Space, It's Huge
by Backstabber128
Summary: The crew gazed wordlessly out the window, into the vast cosmos of space. The newfound golden planet was growing closer and closer to the shuttle as the seconds passed. Deedee anxiously bit her nails, glancing at the three remaining cans of soup. Gulping nervously, and turning semi-confidently to her crew, she declared with a forced smile: "We're going to attempt a landing."
1. The Crash into Oblivion

Note: So this is something I decided to whip up for the past week or so. This was supposed to be based off of Jacksepticeye's first 60 Parsecs letsplay, but I doubt it will turn out to be the exact same, cause it's way too depressing.

So really, I'm making this up from the top of my head. This was all really fun to write though y'all. I hope you enjoy^^

* * *

A burst of electricity surged through the shuttle, sparks popping as fire blasted an aura from outside. The uneducated astronauts screamed in terror - they were falling fast - they could only watch, horrorfied, as the planet's floor began spiraling towards them.

Then, the ship rocked - its nose smashing into fresh earth -

...Or rather, fresh not-earth, now that Deedee thought about it.

Her fingers were still vice-gripped around the joystick, eyes bugged and teeth bared as she expected death to come at any moment. The capsule flipped upside down for a few heart-stopping seconds, gravity seemed to fail, and more yells pierced the air - but thankfully, they landed upon ground again.

The searing hot metal screeched as it was dragged through the rocks, seemingly lending a hand at digging the poor humans' graves. "How lovely," ASTRO would have commented through the chaos.

Before Dawkins attempted the landing - only minutes prior, Emmet tried to steal away the controls. He was blabbering on about science: the importance of speed, distance, gravity and the certain percentage of heat the shuttle could handle before it exploded.

But now, he was somewhere in the back of the ship, screaming bloody murder with the rest of the crew. And before Deedee knew it, she was too.

A mountain was approaching, and so was a radioactive-looking wasteland beneathe it. Deedee desperately jerked the controls, somehow steering the capsule away from the hazards, but resulting in a circuit-breaking smack into an unseen object in front of them.

The crew yelped as they were flung forward, some painfully slamming against the wall from the impact. But then, they froze - realizing a miracle happened. The shuttle had stopped.

The captain, who was on the verge of a panic attack, could hardly believe it. It took a few mind-melting minutes - and maybe a swig or two of caffeine - before she finally managed to turn and face her crew.

It was a mess, to say at the least.

Emmet and Tom were both kneeling on the floor in a duo-ed "tornado drill' position. They were peeping up at her with wild eyes, probably awestuck that they were both still alive and uninjured.

The same couldn't be said for the other crewmate. Specifically, "the large, red-haired man in the green suit," who was upside down in his seat, disoriented, and hugging the chair as if his life depended on it. Multiple bruises decorated his forehead and a black eye was beginning to form.

 _'Great, another screw-up..."_ Deedee thought bitterly. Though, she growled in frustration once she noticed her condition wasn't any better.

'Baby,' was his name, Deedee recalled. A bit ironic for someone as big and brawned as he was. (Not to mention the patchy, ungroomed beard he and the rest of the crew had grown by now.)

It has almost been 12 days. That's how long it's taken him, in particular, to even make eye contact with her. Most of the crew's social interactions from those 12 days consisted of only stares and mumbles, besides an occasional wink or snarky comment from Tom.

Emmet was the only one who actually tried talking with her. Although, their conversations were usually warped by their varying opinions and different experiences. Hence, what caused them to almost be killed.

"How in the hell did you do that!?" Tom sputtered in disbelief. Deedee held up a finger, chugging the rest of her bitter, ass-tasting beverage before responding, "...I'm going to make more coffee."

With that, she walked over to the crafting machine and began pouring herself some hot, fresh, plot-convienent caffeine. She was only halfway done filling her cup when Emmet piped up:

"Hey guys, check out this view!"

By the time she spun around, the men were already huddled at the window. "Wohohoho!" Tom chirped at the sight, "Are those...temples? Buildings? And all that sand...Are we looking at some sorta alien desert?"

"Hmm..." Emmet set a glove to his chin curiously, "It could be... But this is _space,_ afterall. It could be anything..." He paused. "...Maybe a world full of alien fungus or orange fluids, it could be poisonous or medicine or something our minds can't even comprehend..."

Tom mocked his scientific wonders with a scoff, "...Looks like someone needs to check," He claimed, "Deedee?"

The blonde woman met his gaze tiredly, "Since you're the fabled 'captain', you'll have the job of deciding who goes. And it better not be me. So you have two choices: smartass and dumbass - who'll it be?"

As if on cue, ASTRO spat out an essay worth of text - 99% of which they already knew.

Tom sighed irritably, taking the honors of ripping the papers out of the machine and summarizing it for them, "Yadda yadda... the shuttle crashed, the communicator is broken, Deedee and Baby are hurt. Blah blah blah... Something about a moo...uptopia? Huh. Oh yeah, and the expedition thing's activated. Right on skedule."

Deedee walked over to the expedition module, or more specifically, a useless, ratty, sorry-excuse-for-a-spacesuit hanging on a rack.

She looked at her three teammates. Tom was already shamelessly helping himself to another can of soup. As much as she wanted to send him to the deadliest place on the map with no supplies, just to make sure he'd die in the worst possible way - she digressed. They needed supplies. And if she sent him out, he likely wouldn't bring anything back, regardless of how desperate they were.

Emmet seemed liked a good choice. He was the smartest, decently athletic, but not at all strong. She wouldn't be surprised if she sent him out and he never came back, so she decided against it.

And... Baby Bronco, who was standing there silently, fondling his hands together nervously. He hadn't said a word to her _or...anyone_ really, since she had first dragged him into this mess. Other than the mumbled 'no's' and 'yeah's' when she asked him if he was hungry or not. Nothing else.

The captain looked in Emmet's direction, forcing an out of character sneer, "Baby," She announced. The black man's curiousity-filled gleam vanished, "Baby!?" He blurted out, shocked. _"Me?"_ Bronco also seemed to be in disbelief.

"Yep." Deedee answered blantly, "Emmet, you almost killed us. I can't give you the satisfaction of exploring this place. That, and you're too useful to risk dying just yet." Baby's face paled at the mention.

"Yes, but... but!" Ellis stammered. "Ah...this should be a treat." Tom commented, twirling a make-shift spoon in his mouth.

Dawkins took Bronco by a bulky arm and pointed at a mountain in the distance, "See that?" He nodded hesitantly. "The map says there's a cave there that contains minerals. Lots of minerals. I want you to grab as many as you can, and take a lighter so you _can see._ If we get minerals, we can craft. If we can craft, we can recycle. If we can recycle, we can _eat."_

"Ok..." He blumbered in a bass-like voice, "And, er... what was that part about dyin' again...?"

 _ **"Don't."**_ She snapped, "You're...strong, maybe not the brightest...but you can do it. We're counting on you."

The ginger froze a moment, as if not expecting it. "...You...you mean it?"

Deedee studied his expression in suspicion, wondering if the awkward young adult was just playing defenseless to fool her. "...Yes." She assured him. He suddenly beamed, something she'd never seem him do for as long as she'd known him,

"I won't let you down, Cap!"

...

When the airlock door wafted shut, Dawkins cringed. "I think he's going to die." She admitted distastefully.

"Hey, that's one less mouth to feed." Tom chortled, pointing two fingers at the two cans left in the pantry.

Deedee was already beginning to regret her decision. She should have sent Emmet, he would've known where to go... probably. Besides, he had caused her enough problems already - and now, she was stuck with him...and Tom. She groaned, cursing her stressed mind for overlooking it.

She wished Maegan were here, the clever old woman would've known what to do. She would be a much better leader. She wouldn't have failed her motivational speech on the first day. She would know how to handle the band of weirdos she brought aboard. And she'd probably go out of her way to cheat the game, going out on an expedition on her own, just to keep her crew alive.

Emmet's voice snapped the captain out of her caffienated daydreams,

"It's sand!? We're more than a hundred and fifty lightyears away from Earth and somehow this place is just a mirrored version of the Saharan Desert!?" He screeched, crushed as he watched Baby's slow decent towards the caves. The way the yellow ground sloshed around his boots, it bombarded him with memories of the beach. Oh, he could really use a beach right now...

"Isn't that a good thing?" Deedee questioned before taking yet another sip of coffee, "You didn't want him to die just by stepping out there, did you?"

Emmet set a hand to his head wearily, "Of course not! It's just... I've been craving excitement, you know? To see something we haven't seen before and..." He trailed, peering at the yellow-tinted horizon, "I mean, I guess that's new, but..."

"Yep, I get what you mean. I kinda expected something a bit more... alien-y." The woman agreed.

"I thought there'd be UFO's, aliens, skyscrapers and shit!" Tom chimed in, tomato sauce smeared on his chin, "Alien overlords or robots or cyborgs... I don't know, I just wanna see the stuff in comic books come to life!"

As he spoke, he waved his utensil around like a sword, slopping tomato sauce everywhere.

The captain and Emmet could only groan in frustration. "I'll send him out to the swamp with no supplies after Bronco comes back. Agreed?" Deedee bargained with her other crewmate. "Agreed." He stated.

The three then gazed out the window for hours on end, having nothing better to do. They suspensefully watched their small green friend push towards the mountain in the distance, before he seemed to dissapear into a mist of sand. Then, they relished the beauty of the strange, desert-like world. The sun - or, as Emmet corrected them - star, began to fade away behindthe thick golden clouds.

The sight was peaceful while it lasted, until the shuttle decided to puke up even more useless papers for them to read.

They all groaned in unison, Emmet being the one to snatch it up and skim it over. He then proceeded to scoff and crumple it into a ball. "ASTRO says it's getting late, you fed Baby before he left didn't you?"

The captain's eyes went wide once she realized what she had forgotten. "...Did you?" Ellis asked again, concerned.

"We only have two cans left. I didn't even think about it-" The young woman admitted, shamefully. "Welp, he's dead." Tom said, leaning back in his chair, "Emmet, you're next when the expedition module magically reappears~~~"

"No, we just have to wait. A few days without food can't kill him..."

The black man looked out to the purplish sky once more, "...I hope..."

...

Baby studied the starless, dark crimson sky. The cliffs of sand dunes towered over him like skyscrapers. His heart was pounding mercilessly in his chest, his dull green eyes darting in every direction. He could only track the sound of his footsteps crunching into the sand and the breaths he took through his mask.

He finally found the cave, nearly five miles away from the shuttle. It had been at least three hours since he had left the ship. His stomach was already burning and his eyes were growing heavy. _Two days,_ he reminded himself. _Two days until they think you're dead._

The man's eye caught a glimpse of an emerald green glow behind a few hills. He paused, thinking it was just his imagination until he saw it again. _Chemicals..._ He realized. Then, he remembered what the captain had told him,

 _"You're strong... maybe not the brightest...but you can do_ i _t_. _We're counting on you."_

Had she meant it? Did she really believe in him? He wondered anxiously. Or was she just like his parents... a villian pretending to be a hero behind a mask... A faker. That might be why she failed her speech. Maybe she only sent him out just to get rid of him. So he wouldn't find out... But despite his paranoid thoughts, he couldn't tell.

He sighed wearily, glancing back and forth between the cave and the swamp. They only had two cans of soup when he left. He couldn't let them down. They were all the family he had now.

Without a second thought, he dragged himself towards the latter. Unaware of the radioactive mess that awaited him.

* * *

Note: Let me know what you think as a review, guys. I love getting feedback!  
I'll make sure to continue this soon, it was really cool to write.


	2. A Bitter Taste

The captain stared intently at the last soup can in the pantry. Somehow, she found herself craving that cold, nasty, salty tomato paste by now. ...Probably had something to do with going three days without food or coffee. She absently wiped away a string of drool from her lip that she was only semi-aware of.

It's been four days since Baby first set out for the expedition. It was now Day 15... and he still hadn't returned. And no news from ASTRO only meant more building suspense on the poor man's status.

In that small time, their water supply had been contaminated, their coffee maker had broke, they received a transmission from another group of survivors, and...unsuprisingly, they only had one can of soup left.

Tom was kneeling over in his chair, whining about "lack of rations" despite Dawkins barely keeping up herself. "Uuuggghhh..." He moaned as if he was being tortured, which they all pretty much were, "If you're not gonna eat it, just let me do it!"

He sounded like he was on the verge of taking the food by force, but he didn't move a inch. Instead, he just resumed his childish groaning noises, like he had been doing for the past ten hours - much to Deedee's dismay.

Emmet snuck a peek at the battered woman from the lining of his glasses. He could tell she was on the verge of a breakdown, and the loss of her precious caffeinated drink didn't help. He vaguely sighed. "I told you that you should've saved that can for yourself, not me." He spoke with a shake of his head.

The blue eyed blonde only grumbled a response.

Her half-hearted friend fell silent, peering out the window, into the empty desert-like fields once again, "The star's setting again," He said regretfully, seeing no sign of their long-lost crewmember, "You should really eat the last soup so you can think tommarow."

"No...not yet." Was her immediate reply, "The suit isn't back yet, he could still be alive. I'm saving it for when...or if, he comes back..."

"That, or ASTRO hasn't convienently made the "replica" of it yet." Tom spat from his seat, "I swear, this game makes no sense..."

"Well, if you say so." Ellis shrugged, ignoring Tom's negativity, "But you could at least recycle the..." He paused, realizing the medkit and the communicator were all they had. "...nevermind."

The skinny black man tiredly sunk back in his chair, stretching a hand to shut off the lights. Before he did, he spared one more worried glance at the captain's gaunt features, "Just make sure you don't starve to death." Was his only request.

She nodded, forcing another crooked smile and a heart-warming: "Goodnight." despite her hopelessness.

Then, the power flickered to black.

...

Seconds ticked by, then minutes. That's when she realized.

She couldn't sleep.

Not just because of the endless rumbling of her cramping stomach, or Tom's constant snoring. It was a sound outside the shuttle. It was like... a tapping noise? Or was it footsteps crunching in the sa-

 _BLAM BLAM BLAM_

Deedee and both of her crewmates jumped awake at the noise. "What in the he-" Tom began, but a new voice cut him off, "Let me...let me in...!" It rumbled, the all-too-familiar bass-like tone was undeniable. It sounded more of wheezes than words, but the crew understood it, nonetheless.

The captain was first to the door, working the latch open with effort. And there, barely standing, yet hulking in the doorframe, was Baby, somehow still alive. "Holy shit! You survived!" Deedee shamelessly cussed aloud, not believing her eyes. Though, she could barely see him through the darkness, she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed.

The bitter stench of unfamiliar fumes stung her nose, making her peer up at him, concerned, "Are you ok?"

The frazzled man muttered a dizzy "...ah've bin butter," which only made her worry worse.

Then, the lights popped back on with a snap. Dawkins gasped, seeing the heavy bags under Baby's eyes and how his splotchy white skin contrasted with his scruffy ginger beard. She instinctively pulled away, but grabbed him again to keep him from collapsing to the floor.

His arms were full of filled flasks and rocks, plenty enough to sustain the crew for at least another two weeks. Emmet grimaced at the brute's unkempt appearance as he carefully plucked each item from his trembling arms.

As soon as the captain ripped the dirty helmet off of him, Bronco began coughing irratically. Tom reacted fast, yanking his collar over his face, as if to hide his five a clock shadow, "What kind of disease did you bring in here!?" He squealed in disgust.

Emmet peered over his shoulder, already noting the symptoms, "He must be poisoned. Might have inhaled some kind of alien gas or something. This place could be more dangerous than we thought..."

"But how!? I told him to go to the caves, the map said that there was no..." Deedee looked at Baby, who was knelt over, gasping for the shuttle's fresh air. "...You did go to the caves, right?"

He sputtered restlessly, obviously fighting to get the words past his head, "There... was a swamp... there... chemicals...and..." "-You went to the swamp!?" Deedee cut him off with a stressed shout, "Without a mask?"

"Only two...two soups, I-I couldn't..." Another fit of coughs, "let t-team down."

"Damn, he might be on his last leg, but you gotta admit that's both impressive and pure plot convienience." Thomson winked with a muffled smirk.

Dawkins scowled at the comment, helping her worse-for-wear companion back to his seat. His purple-ringed eyes were noticeably bloodshot and unfocused. "Did you get any sleep out there at all?" She said with a raise of her brow. He predictably shook his head with a slightly slurred, "not much..."

She frowned, glancing at the fifty or so chemicals and materials he brought back. "So... do you want a soup before you fall out?" Deedee questioned, noticing the twenty pounds he lost during his trip. He weakly shook his head to say "no", but the blonde shoved a pre-prepared spoonful of soup into his mouth anyways.

Despite his protest, he slurped it down greedily. "No one's dying on me tonight." She declared to both him and her emotionally-drained team, "We're all going to get through this mess together, ok? Even if it kills us."

They all stared back at her as if she just turned into a completely different person.

She took that as a compliment.

It took several more spoonfuls of soup before her exhausted teammate finally slumped back in his chair, snoring softly. She obliged taking out the medkit and tending to his nearly-infected wounds. She couldn't bear to risk him dying from his injuries overnight.

Tom smacked a ration of chemicals into the crafting machine, grinding his teeth, "Why does it have to take a whole day?" He griped impatiently, "It takes one day to craft soup, another day to craft another soup and auughhhhh..."

"Go to sleep." Dawkins stated as she busily wrapped Bronco's bloodied arm. The one-eyed brunette scowled, "You're just saying that because you know you're getting the first can."

"You know I can force you to go out right now in the same suit Baby wore, right?" The woman snapped, gesturing to the most likely contaminated space outfit laying in the floor. "...Right." Tom replied, eying the thing as if it were poison.

"Anyways, starving to death is not on my bucket list, 'captain.' So I'll make sure I improvise in the morning." He added, folding his arms over his chest. "Have fun with that." Deedee muttered, remembering all the other lies he's told during their adventure.

The sly man merely looked over at her with a smirk. "Goodnight." Was all he said.

...

An hour later, Dawkins tossed the empty medkit in the corner with all the other trash. Mainly empty soup cans and wrappers. She spared one more worried glance at Baby's sleeping form before sighing and collapsing into her chair.

It was a long, awful, but exciting day - at least. She gazed down towards the empty astrocitizen cup beside her chair. Still empty. But she continued staring at it, regardless. Hoping it would magically refill and use it's bitterly sweet scent to drag her back into serenity.

...It didn't. So she instead, closed her eyes and hoped to escape to it on her own.

She imagined the taste and smell, maybe a pinch of sugar, or creme... just how she liked it at home. Tinted slightly pecan with a small silver teaspoon dipped in for mixing.

The swirl, the colors, the perfect texture... The way the taste lingered on her tongue, especially after a tart-like flavor.

Though, her dreams quickly evolved to only herself and a giant, uncontrollable sea. Symbolisym for chaos and stress surrounding her with no escape.

She ended up tossing and turning all night, trapped in another hellish nightmare. One that was far too much like reality, this time.

But before she knew it, it was morning again.


	3. An Empty Dish

Authors note: I'll try to make the chapters a bit longer from now on so I can write multiple stories for this game y'all. There's too many different scenarios I want to explore, I'm so addicted XD Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

"Baby returned from his expedition last night." Emmet announced, reading ASTRO's text aloud, "Right as I, and everyone else most likely, thought he had perished. Which he surely could have. But regardless, he's back and in one piece. Maybe not as un-irradiated as we hoped, but back, at least."

 _+55 chemicals +43 minerals_

The African American once again crumbled up the paper and tossed it in the corner. Bored, he rested his head in a glove, studying Mootopia's hazy yellow sky.

He could, but only for a moment before Tom's raspy voice snapped him out of his mindless trance.

"So hey big guy, how was your trip? Did you have fun? Meet any aliens?" Tom inquired to the quivering redhead across from him.

The tank-like man had woken up not long ago, sickness halfway passed and injuries decently healed. A pure miracle for their recently upgraded medkit. However, he was also completely silent, cowering in his chair and staring at the floor as if in a daze.

...Just like he was after Deedee had first thrown him in this mess. He was mute and deaf to their small-talk for 12 straight days, but no one could blame him.

 _Wasn't he the one who played with the toys back on the station?_ Emmet pondered curiously, eying the brute up and down, _...Huh._

Surprisingly, the ginger managed the courage to speak:

"There were... cliffs n' shadows everywhere. It was so dark in the mountain, the lighter helped a bit, but it stopped workin' after awhile..." He claimed in an ironically frightened voice, "I only went to the green stuff so I could get some lights. I didn't even think about the fumes."

"Oh, that explains it..." Emmet grumbled irritably, turning to Deedee, who was still restlessly washing the contaminated space suit, "That's why I told you to use the handbook for the landing. If you used that instead of the lighter, this wouldn't have happened."

"Yeah, but we'd probably be dead because we can't use minerals to craft soup. That's something I didn't think about when I first sent him out. Honestly, this was for the best." Deedee said with an unconscious sip from her empty coffee mug.

"It was my fault." Baby blubbered, looking up at her tiredly, "I just... didn't think."

The captain exhaled wearily, "It's fine Bronco, at least we have food for now. We should be grateful for that." She glanced at the corner of the shuttle, catching Tom being off-task as usual, she snorted, "Unlike some of us..."

The self proclaimed army veteran, taranchula trainer, company chef, scout leader - ect - had been rummaging behind his chair for awhile, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. "Tom, what are you doing?" She eventually asked him.

He froze a moment, visable eye going wide before he not-so-sneakily attempted to hide an item in his suit. "You're not fooling anyone." Dawkins stated, impatiently setting a hand on her hip.

The brunett turned to face her, eye half lidded in annoyance. There was a bowl full of suspicious liquid in his lap. Deedee's eyes went wide as she tried to piece together what it was,

"...Is that..."

Emmet and Baby both turned to look in unison. The black man's face scrunched up in disgust while the other's was stuck in clueless innocence. "Want some?" Thomson offered, with a full mouth of the substance, holding out the bowl generously.

"What!? No!" The captain snapped, appalled. "Suit yourself," The man replied, about to snag another spoonful of it before she slapped it out of his hands.

"Hey! That took all night for me to make!" He snapped with frustration.

 _"Make?_ Oh my God Tom, you've officially lost your mind." The blonde facepalmed in physical pain.

"What!? It's a dish! Food! Do you really want me to starve just because I waited for the next can of soup!?"

"...Wait, a dish?" The woman piped, "You made that yourself? Cooked it?" He could only nod with his hands still gestured out, obviously confused.

"Ooooooooooohhh..." Emmet and Deedee realized together, both slapping themselves mentally. They barely heard Baby murmur a jumbled, "I don't get it."

"What's with the 'Oh's'? What did you think it was!?" Thomson spared another look at his meal before scowling, "You all are disgusting. And I thought I had a dirty mind."

"But then, how did you make it?" Ellis stammered awkwardly, "There's nothing edible here but soup."

"Heh, it's a little something I learned back in training." The veteran declared, cracking his knuckles self confidently. The captain could just _hear_ how long he took to make up that one. "What kind of training?" She tested with a raise of brow. He merely smirked, "CIA."

"And how do we know you're telling the truth?"

"You don't."

His sly smile only grew, making her want to punch him even more. But thankfully, she thought up a much worse punishment.

"Welp, looks like the expedition module's ready." She suddenly announced, dropping her greasy rag to the floor. "Already?" The ex military man gulped. "Yep! Now let's see..." Her eyes danced around the map as she sadistically brainstormed his demise. "Do you want to go to the swamp or the desert?"

"Errrr...-" He began with a hand to his chin, she gladly interupted with a: "Swamp it is." She tossed him the dirty space suit with a visable glee she hadn't shown in days.

"Hey! At least let me eat first." He spat, plucking his half-ruined dish off the floor. Dawkins merely stood there and watched, a hand over her face, shaking her head.

"Are you _sure_ you don't want some?" He teased with a sneer, noticing her staring.

With that, she nearly shoved him, the suit, and his dish out of the shuttle - but someone's bulky arm stopped her. "Ya gotta give him something, Cap." Baby's familiar bass voice cut in, "You saw what that place did to me."

Deedee rolled her eyes stubbornly, but couldn't help but smile at Bronco's undeniable generousity. But then, she beamed, remembering her only option for an item. She handed Tom the broken lighter with a grin, "Safe travels!" She said sarcastically, waving him off.

He glared daggers at her, but saluted anyways. "I'll come back if I survive." He vaguely assured, "Remember, I have military training. I might surprise you-"

The airlock door slammed shut.

...

Before long, the crew was back at square one. Or more specifically; the game of glancing mutely around the shuttle, being deathly bored but unsure of what to say.

Deedee knew they all needed a distraction from the tension, so she decided to take charge. "So...uh, now that Tom's gone, I guess we can finally have some peace and quiet, right guys?"

Bronco mumbled a soft "hmph" while Ellis stretched back in his chair, messy afro and scruff obscuring his depressed expression, "Amen to that." He stated.

There was an uncomfortable amount of silence that followed, but Deedee resisted giving up the talk. "So... what did you two do for a living back on Earth? What kind of jobs?" That question, somehow, seemed to pique their interest.

Emmet was the first to respond, "I used to be a chemistry teacher back in Chicago for the past few years - believe it or not. Though I graduated from University, I...uh, didn't have many opportunities." The blonde could tell by his expression that it wasn't the only reason. Sadly, she felt like she already knew.

"I didn't earn much money working there, but it was a decent job. I had the chance to teach a few hundred students to think outside the box, at least." He trailed, looking towards the all-too-nervous Baby Bronco, "How about you? How did you wind up in this mess?"

The brute hesitated a bit, busily playing with his hands, as if mentally debating to tell the truth. "I... never really had a 'job'..." He admitted carefully, slightly avoiding eye contact with the others.

"No job? Then what did you do? Live with your parents?" Ellis asked, somehow surprised. "Well... yeah." Baby answered, a slight crack in his voice.

Something about the frightened look in the näive adult's eyes clicked something in Ellis' head. He could have sworn he'd seen them somewhere before. _Have I seen him before?_ He wondered in the back his mind. He couldn't be sure.

"What about you, Deedee?" Baby questioned the captain. She looked up, startled, as if not expecting it. "Oh, me? Errr... Nothing special, just a waitress at a simple diner back in California."

She was ashamed of purposely skipping over the vital part of her childhood years... but she shrugged it off. _What would it change?_ She thought bitterly. _They don't need to know, it's not important right now._

"A simple life is always good." Emmet commented, "I never wanted a crazy one either, but... I guess we're stuck with one anyways."

Deedee nodded, wondering how in the world - or universe - she could forget about being 17 days in a completely different galaxy, and somehow still alive. Their lives have definetly gone downhill, she'll admit.

"Hey Cap? Do you think..." Bronco began with caution, "...anyone on Earth could still be alive? Could they find us? Save us?"

"...I... wish I knew." Deedee uttered, wishing he had asked Emmet instead. She found her eyes rolling back to Mootopia's lifeless hills,

"All we can do now is wait and find out."

...

The rest of the day was, ironically, full of forced jokes and chatter even ASTRO was starting to get sick of. But they were finally bonding, at long last. The captain almost felt bad that Tom wasn't there to enjoy the moment with them. But oh well.

It all started when she decided to switch the dreary mood, sharing her favorite knock knock jokes and mocking the computer with crude pick up lines, (most of which Baby didn't understand, which only caused her more laughter.)

But in the end, they were in a much better state than before. Deedee had even gotten a few hearty laughs out of Bronco, which she and Emmet gladly celebrated as a platinum acheivement.

...Too bad ASTRO had to ruin their cheers with a blaring red light. It puked out a series of texts, all stating the same thing: **THE SHIP IS ABOUT TO BE CONTAMINATED.**

If the computer did it on purpose just to ruin the moment, although highly unlikely, it was right on time. And the strange smell coming from the ventilation system only proved the message to be true.

Dawkins searched frantically for anything to protect her and her crew from the gas, eyes darting in every direction. Ellis ripped through spare shelves and lockers, but inevitably found nothing but dust and smashed soup cans.

Bronco ran around blindly in a panic, hyperventilating as memories from the station flooded through his mind. Though, a quick glint at the corner of his eye snapped him back to reality. He darted towards it, gasping as he found a perfectly crafted mask hidden underneathe broken wires.

The ginger held it up proudly, "Cap, look!" He chimed, the woman sprinted over, eyes lighting up in hope. Then, everyone paused.

"Wait. There's only one mask for... three of us?" Emmet pointed out, puzzled. The captain merely stood there, looking just as confused.

"..."

"..."

"...Should we take turns?" Baby randomly suggested among the silence.

"I mean, it works in the game, right? Game's logic? We have no other choice but to trust it in this case." The woman claimed, tugging the mask over her face.

"So me and Baby have to last like this all night?" The former chemistry teacher spoke worryingly, gesturing to the smoke-spewing air vent, "It's the only choice we have. I'm sorry, but we'll just have to see what happens in the morning." She declared with visable regret.

The two men exchanged glances fearfully, expecting the worst was yet to come.

"Goodnight." Was their captain's last half-hearted statement before the lights flickered black once again.

* * *

Authors note: (I'll leave a *few* notes of trivia here for those who are interested^^)

\- I always wondered why Tom wouldn't make "the dish" for himself in the game to keep himself from starving. I feel like it's more out of character for him not to. (Not to mention the dirty joke I threw in this story, please forgive me lmao) I thought the randomness was a cool edition to those who know how he even can get the dish in the first place.

\- About Emmet's backstory, there's a dark hint I threw in there about it being "historically accurate." It would make sense that racism was a key factor in preventing him from getting a better job than a teacher. Especially as in rising in ranks at the time. The 1960s was a very bad time for equality.

\- Also I thought it was funny to make him from Chicago since I don't know anything about it in the 1960s lol

\- Same thing with Deedee. It's confirmed that she lives somewhere around where the McDoodle family lives in the first game's DLC. But there's no information on what state or town their neighborhood is located in, so of course I just guessed California.

\- There are plenty of hints to foreshadowing future events in this chapter, by the way.

\- I like the idea of the characters being self-aware of themselves in this since they're no longer just sprites in the videogame. They have alot more personality to explore and there's alot more drama that can happen - and that's what I love writing most~~~

As always, don't be afraid to leave feedback!


	4. Dead and Gone

Just so you all know, this is the second to last chapter of this story. I wanted to keep this short because I didn't want to drag it on for too long. (Like I do with many of my stories rip)

Plus, there's plenty of other scenarios I'd like to write for this game. There's so many things to explore.

But in the meantime, I hope you enjoy^^

* * *

It took until morning before the strange alien scent faded back into the regular stench of sweaty, unwashed astronauts.

Honestly, the captain preferred the bleach-like smell of the smoke. At least inhaling it _seemed_ to have a few healthy benefits.

It was Day 17. The captain set a newly crafted can of soup in the cabinet. With a dull glance at her still-broken coffee maker, she frustratingly filled her mug with water instead.

She scowled, studying the beverage as if it were poison. A bumping noise interupted her from back in the cabin, the woman merely clicked her tongue, expecting it. "Good morning, fellow lumberjacks... Did you sleep well? Did the game logic idea work out?"

She frowned, hearing no response. She at least expected Emmet to spit back against the "lumberjack" comment, maybe calling her a hypocrite and that they had much worse to worry about than just their looks.

She twirled to face them, then froze once she saw her crew's now-awoken appearances.

...They both looked like stoners, to say the least. Their eyes were bloodshot pink with drool slipping from their lips - Baby looked like he just got done donning that pair of underwear on his head.

Deedee facepalmed in disbelief, rearranging her dishoveled red bandanna, "Looks like we're not in the game..." She laughed pathetically.

The two men gazed mindlessly around the shuttle, seemingly lost in their own heads. Dawkins gladly hesitated walking up and attempting to get their attention. She snapped her fingers in front of Baby's face, making him jump in surprise.

"Are you ok?" She asked him, despite the answer being clear. "Ahm fine." He stated robotically, "Let's just get the job done, worry later. You know the drill..." His eyes flicked to the lone soup in the shelves, then he fell silent again.

The captain furrowed her brow, she'd never heard him speak in that tone before. Much less mention anything about 'Job's or 'Drill's. What the hell was he on about?

The blonde tried to get his attention once more, but he had already escaped into his melancholic mental realm. Curiously, she turned to Emmet, who wasn't in any better condition. His teeth were strained in misery and one of his hands was lost in his mess of an afro.

Groaning in both regret and aggarvation, she ripped ASTRO's text out of the console.

" _You decided it was a better idea to risk your crew's health rather than your own. Both a good call and a bad one, captain. While the fumes weren't too dangerous - it took a serious impact on your companion's mental states. So now you're stuck with lunatics... Enjoy it while it lasts!"_

 _End transmission._

Deedee scowled miserably, taking two flasks of science and smashing them into the crafting system. _Two days for one sock..._ She reminded herself, glancing back at her crazed crew,

 _Four days for two socks..._

Slipping back in her chair, Deedee rested her head in a hand, tapping a finger impatiently. Now what was she going to do? Try to talk to them while their minds were too frazzled to know who she was?

Or just wait to see if Tom ever came back, _if_ he even did.

Hours dragged on, only occasionally did the blonde woman hear one of her crazed friends mumble something about "the power of the conch" or... other things.

Emmet kept on whispering words of reassurance and scientific blabberings - ones that were probably brought up after so many years of teaching chemistry class.

Meanwhile, Baby was coping with his mind much worse. As if in a panic, he rambled on about missing something and apologizing for being a burden. The poor guy couldn't catch a break. It was like he was trapped in a horrible nightmare.

Deedee couldn't help but slide over and try to snap him out of it. She shook him by the shoulders, "It's not real, it's not real, ok? You're safe with us, don't worry."

It was almost ironic that she had started this mess in the first place.

Regardless, her soothing actions to the man were successful, and he woke with a blink. The first thing he did was grab her and hold her close. Which was... unexpected.

But after the few awkward moments, she decided to role with it, softly patting his back. And soon, he fell lax back in his chair, staring past her once more and into - _literal_ \- space.

She couldn't help but wonder what could upset him so much. Sure, he was Baby Bronco, but there could be mysteries that he could be revealing in his unraveled mind.

...Maybe she wasn't the only one harboring a secret.

...

Night began to fall. Or at least, that's what ASTRO said was the approximate Earth time by now. The new world's light was still beaming strong.

And... Ellis was muttering to himself incoherently in a dark corner of the shuttle.

Dawkins vaguely decided he was having various mental fantasies like Bronco was earlier. With a suspenseful grimace, she walked up and tapped him on the shoulder.

Instantly, his eyes went wild, "The aesthetics of a certain dark nebulae are absolutely, naturally perfect." He said, donning a sneer. Before she could ask him to translate his words into understandable english, he began to frantically search the shuttle.

He then gobbled about "similiar evidence of universal perfection," which Dawkins could only guess meant a superior item to manage. She rocked on her heels, barely noticing the broken husk of an atomic battery at her feet.

The thing was done-for already, but she decided to give Ellis' brain a shot. "Hey," She piped to the former chemistry instructor. He spun around, carefully eying her before spotting the shell of a power cell in her hands.

He furrowed his eyebrows, then snatched it from her, "A universally superior contraption?" He pondered curiously, "It could be adapted. Aside from a few minor complications... into a more formidable state, I suppose..."

With all the big words the wimpy guy was pulling out of his head, the captain wouldn't be surprised if he had stashed a library's thousand page dictionary somewhere nearby. Insanity took no toll on his brilliant mind, however that worked.

He tinkered with the useless item for hours on end, before he inevitably tired himself out and fell asleep on the floor. When Dawkins peeped over, she saw a perfectly crafted atomic battery laying next to him.

Much later that night, Deedee lay crookedly in her seat, her head rested in a hand. Exhausted from all the mental stress and lack of caffiene.

A rough jab to her arm jolted her back to reality. She leapt up, startled, before she froze, seeing Baby's unusually intimidating gaze.

"Hey Cap, I've got a job coming up. A smash and grab gig." He spoke coldly, his eyes suspiciously darted to the lone soup can in the shelves, "Get some supplies. You in?"

The blonde looked him up and down uneasily, wondering what the hell was going on. _Oh,_ She remembered tiredly, _He's crazy..._

He was speaking differently, his posture had changed, he had a different look in his eyes ... It was like he became a completely different person. The captain could only hope it was just a harmless hallucination.

 _'What would Maegan do?'_

She looked over at the single soup and a shovel lying in the corner - where her odd friend was eying and not incospicuously feeling his pockets.

With a noticably concerned glare, the captain stood to her feet with a convincing grin, "Yes! These are..." She paused, "...These are _real_ special supplies, right?" The man nodded eagerly.

"They're... Tom's precious supplies. But he's gone now... So you can have them all to yourself!"

The kleptomaniac-like giant rubbed his hands together, beaming. "We'll have to hurry." He breathed.

Deedee watched, astonished, as he skillfully plucked each item from it's place. Some things even seemed to appear out of thin air. He was almost like a human supply-detector. Too skilled for someone with no experience.

In the end, he stashed up three piles of resources, one soup can, five empty soup cans, a shovel, and a heap of crumbled up ASTRO prints under his chair.

He crossed his arms over his chest, smiling proudly. "Good job." The woman congratulated, surprised that they had actually benefitted from the insanity.

And with that, Baby collapsed back in his seat, snuggling the cushion as if it were a luxury bed, "Thanks Cap," He somewhat bumbled, "You're the best."

Was he trapped in some semi-present version of the past? A movie? A dream? Dawkins felt the guilt of letting the madness get to him, as well as Emmet. She could only gaze at the crafting module, cautiously waiting for the sock to complete.

...

The captain awoke to a beeping sound clucking from the communication console. Instinctively, she flew to it and smashed the 'receive' button. It rewarded her with harsh static of someone - or something's - voice from the other side.

Remembering that it was still broken, she spun in her chair to see if the smaller one picked up similiar sounds. ...But it was no where to be found.

She furrowed her brow, trying to recall if she had seen it after Tom left...

 _...That sly bastard._ The blue eyed blonde realized, cursing herself for not noticing it until now.

But if Tom was dead, the console wouldn't work... since it was directly connected to the communicator... She jumped up in realization, quickly checking it's fire-hazard-like wires, head swarming in desperation.

If he was still alive, however he could be, he was their only chance for getting supplies. If only they could communicate-

Her eyes fell on Emmet, who, despite being in a sane-stricken haze, was peering back at her. As if trying to tell her he knew. Taking advantage of the broken game mechanics, she ripped the halfway crafted sock out of the machine.

She carefully fixed her grown-out hair back in her tattered bandanna, then wore the sock on a hand, balled it into a fist, and whacked her comrade upside the head with it. His glasses flew off from the impact.

He yelped as he fell to the floor, coming back to his senses. "What the-"He stammered, confused, "What-"

"You and Baby went insane from inhaling the smoke." Deedee began, sputtering, "The game logic idea failed, the stupid author made the scenario too realistic. Now it's been three days. The communication system has a signal from the communicator but it needs to be fixed. I need you to fix it."

It took a moment of readjusting his glasses and peering over at Bronco's creepily smiling form before he nodded, "I'm finally needed for once." He stated half heartfully, "You might want to use that sock on him too. Just so he doesn't accidentally kill one of us."

"Good point." Dawkins replied. Without warning, she struck her arm out and smacked the unsuspecting lunatic in the face. Baby recoiled, making a high pitched squeal that almost sounded like an abused child.

Then he cleared his throat, seeing the underwear dangling off his head, "Eeeer... what did I miss?"

" _Alot."_ The captain answered with a sigh. "We'll...uh, have to talk about it later. But for now, we need to fix the communicator. ASAP."

Emmet stood upright with a salute. Weither sarcastic or not, she couldn't tell. But immediately, his fingers went to work on the shredded wires. At that point, they all prayed for a miracle.

Again, time ticked by, but no signal returned. It maybe had something to do with the tattered wires being tied together hazardously. Some were still snapped apart and sparking. But still, the crew refused to give up hope.

Deedee tapped a foot impatiently, slurping down the last bit of soup in her can. Then, she continued staring down the console as if her life depended on it.

Emmet studied her blankly, wistfully rubbing his chin, "Is now a bad time to bring up what happened after that game logic idea?" He questioned just to change the subject.

The limber young woman peeped up, as if struck from her uncaffeinated haze, "Oh...right..." She trailed, looking at him and Baby uncomfortably.

"Well... you helped fix the battery, however that happened. But that was after all of your monologuing about... finding universal perfection...?"

The black man blinked in confusion, awkwardly fixing his glasses, "Huh. I don't know where that came from..." He crinkled his nose, "What about Bronco?"

The redhead visably shook as his name was mentioned. "...He was almost like in a heist fantasy," Deedee claimed as he avoided her eyes, "I had to pretend to steal our own supplies to get him to calm down."

She pointed at all the random supplies scattered around his feet. Her muscley crewmate seemed even more anxious than usual, fingers intertwined so tight his knuckles were turning white beneathe his gloves.

Dawkins would've resisted asking, but her curiousity got the better of her, "Is... there a reason?"

The male gulped down his guilt, knowing he couldn't hide his secret forever. He finally made eye contact.

"I thought you were ma." He admitted guiltily, "...Her and Papa Bronco always made me do bad things to people. I-I didn't want to - but if I didn't they..." He paused. The captain and Emmet both exchanged glances.

"So instead, I pretended I was an all-American hero. But that was all until I... messed up. They threw me in jail, said I wasn't even theirs'. That they found me hidin' in the woods and brought me there to turn me in."

He paused again, buliding more curiousity from his two crewmates. "...But if you were in jail..." Ellis pondered, "How did you end up at the Astrocitizen Program?"

"I had a friend. My only friend - the old man. He was the only one who liked me, who talked and called me 'kid.' One day, some men started pickin' on him. I tried to stop them, told them to leave him alone - but then a riot broke out. I didn't think. I ran to the front gates while the guards were distracted."

"And with pure luck, i made it out of the can. ...That's how I ended up here."

Silence rose between the three, Baby didn't respond to it well. He was iternally panicking, wondering if his crew would kick him out or kill him for admitting his past.

Thankfully, Deedee noticed his body language and spoke up, "Wow. That's... That's horrible." Suddenly, his child like nature finally made sense, she couldn't imagine what kind of emotional trauma he went through during his childhood, "I had no idea."

The startled expression of Bronco appeared in Emmet's mind again, it was then he realized, "It was you. I remember you were all over the news. There was footage and everything. Sentanced to 20 years in prison for burglary, vandalism, grand theft auto and... involuntary manslaughter and murder?"

The last bit made them all freeze. Baby laid his face in his hands shamefully, "I screwed up. I didn't want to do it, I swear, but ma and pa gave me no choice."

Dawkins slowly set a hand on his back, like she had earlier. "It's ok, don't worry. That was all in the past. It's not your fault anymore. It was your parents, and they're most likely dead and gone by now because of what they did." She almost couldn't think of what to say.

"At least, now you have the chance to be a better person."

The redhead sniffled, clearly trying to hold back tears, "Thanks Cap, I... guess you're right." Unexpectedly, he sweeped both of his companions in a heart warming bear hug. "You all are the best."

Even as the air was squeezed out of them, they both smiled. "No problem."

...

A loud "BANG" was heard, making Baby jerk from his snores and fall out of his seat. His eyes darted around the room, heart pounding out of his chest. But it was silent. Nothing in the shuttle had changed and everyone else was still asleep.

Deciding that it was just his paranoid mind playing tricks on him, he tried to lull himself back to sleep. But a ear-wrenching scraping noise popped by the airlock, this time startling everyone.

"...Is that Tom?" He heard Deedee chirp beside him. The "BAM"s started again, appearing demanding. But before any of them could answer, the shuttle door flew open, revealing the face of a... human?

They could only stare it, not believing their eyes.

The awe didn't last long, because the person cocked the head of a gun at Emmet, who leaped out of it's path right in time to avoid a gunshot. The bullet whizzed past him and tore through the rubber of his seat. The crew screamed in terror.

The captain scrambled towards the newly upgraded power cell to use for defense. Baby watched in horror as the communist's aim settled near her form, he reacted fast, hurling a fist towards the person's determined face. (And forgetting that it had a mask for protection.)

The glass shattered from the impact, and the being lurched back in surprise. Bronco grinned, seeing that he had caught it off guard, whamming it again before seeing the several other communists waiting outside.

His smile faded right as a barrel of a gun came into contact with his nose. With a quick snapping noise, he fell to the floor with a grunt.

The captain lifted the battery over her head with a newfound strength. She grit her teeth at the intruders, flinging the object forward and... watching as it shattered to pieces on the ground.

Her jaw dropped in horror, her last bit of hope crushed. The communists merely bursted out in laughter. It didn't last long, however, because Baby shot back up with a bloody nose and a shovel vice-gripped in his hands.

He shouted a battle cry, swinging the weapon back and forth like a makeshift sword. Multiple gunshots cracked through the air, but no one could tell if it was the communists or not. Mainly because other bullets zapped into the doorframe from outside.

The attackers looked towards where it came from, puzzled. Then more blasts thundered by, forcing them all to stampede back in the direction they came.

Footsteps crunched in the sand nearby, suspensefully approaching the doorway.

Deedee bit her tongue anxiously, Emmet peeked up from his hiding spot behind the console, while Baby stood stiff, breathing languidly with his shovel held at the ready. A figure emerged from the smoke of the sandstorm...

...and casually dropped a functional communicator, brand new battery, upgraded gun, artifact, tape, lighter, gas mask, manuel, medkit, and eight cans of soup to the floor. Slicking his greying brown hair back with a smirk, he slipped inside:

"Did you miss me?"


	5. Vertigo

Author's note: I decided to split the ending in two parts, just so this chapter doesn't end up being 20,000 words long. That, and I got a bit too invested in writing this. And I definitely don't want it to be rushed either.  
So since it's been exactly one month since I've updated, take this 9,445 word monstrosity to make up my absence. It starts out a little slow, but oh lordie things start happening. Heads up, this is where the "Graphic Depictions of Violence" warning comes in. Trust me, it gets a bit dark - so be aware. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy!  
I put alot of effort into this one, hence why it took so long.

* * *

None of them could catch a wink of sleep after the communist encounter the night prior. But despite the bags weighing under their eyes and their jumpy tendancies at any abrupt 'BANG' from the ceiling - they were all fine.

Only now, the shuttle was being bathed beneathe pounds upon pounds of sand. If any of the Astrocitizens had claustrophobia previously, they sure were having it now.

And ASTRO's constant warnings of damage to the ship's oxygen generator definitely wasn't helping.

The system also stated that the sand storm wouldn't let up for another week or two. Even so, Dawkins refused to risk sending anyone out. Especially since she found out there was a communist clan out for their skin.

The relentless battering of grain was becoming hard enough to bear, but the muteness of their voices was somehow even worse. It was disbelief of how lucky they were, if anything.

As much as they were grateful for their new abundance of supplies, they were grateful for each other much more. Deedee could only imagine what 20 days in space would be like all alone.

She stirred at the clumps of tomato floating in her can, curiously sneaking peeks at each of her mind-boggled crewmembers.

It was surprisingly quiet, even after Tom returned from his expedition. Which was... a bit strange.

She caught a glimpse of blood dribble from Baby's bruised nose, but he quickly wiped it away with his sleeve. Leaving a long, crimson trail stained into the green fabric.

"Are you sure you're ok with that injury, Bronco?" She asked suspiciously, still unused to calling him by his first name, "We have a brand new medkit ready if you need it. And we have plenty of resources to craft an extra for later."

Re-checking the module later, however, she would grit her teeth anxiously, realizing that '06' chemicals wasn't exactly the definition of "plenty."

"No, it's nothin'." Baby sniffed tenatively, scooping up another blob of his breakfast, "It's not worth wastin' a medkit over, anyways..."

The sandy rains continued to noisily pummel the membrane of their ship. The human's soleumn mood refused to change, even as Tom bursted home from the other end of the bunker.

He seemed slightly glum, perhaps a side effect from venturing alone for three straight days. Crunching off the lid of his soup can, he sat to face the others.

Even he had nothing to say, however that was possible.

Earlier that morning, Deedee was generous enough to share some details from the crew's previous conversations with him. She expected to immediately regret it, revealing them before instantly being bombarded with mocking jokes of everything she said.

But instead, the man merely clicked his tongue and nodded in understanding. And when she questioned his flawless luck during his last expedition, he only winked and stated: " _Military training."_

Meanwhile, back in the present, the exhausting silence dragged on further.

"Huh." Thomson suddenly spoke out of the blue, "...I can't believe I've been stuck with a former criminal, waitress, and science teacher this whole time and I didn't even know it."

The statement seemed like an excuse to fill in the silence. Regardless, the group's weary attention snapped to him instantly, some (ironically) eager for a change in mood.

"Hey, I'm not complaining." He corrected himself, mistaking the stares as signs of irritation, "As long as big guy over there doesn't try to kill me in my sleep, I won't judge." Baby almost had enough nerve to roll his eyes.

After eying him nonchalantly, Tom continued, "I wasn't the exactly the 'life of the party' back on Earth either. But it's too bad you couldn't wait until I got back to talk about it..." There was a hint of sadness in his tone.

"That's because everything that comes out of your mouth is a joke." Deedee spat on impulse, once more recalling all of the lies he'd told them during their journey.

He was about to object, as she expected, but stopped before the childish insults could roll off of his tongue. "The truth is, you wouldn't believe me even if I _was_ telling the truth." He accused with a scowl.

"Besides, how do we know you're not hiding something from us? How do any of us know we're not lying to each other? To _ourselves?"_

For a second, Deedee thought he knew that she was guilty of hiding her own secret. There were only a few instances when she caught one of her crew's stares when she tripped or shook from a pain jolting through her leg.

Tom sighed, rubbing his face, as if ashamed that even hewas succumbing to hopelessness. Even after all of his restless scavenging.

"You're... you're right." The blonde confessed, with slight sympathy at his sudden honesty, "No more lies, no more secrets, no more hiding things from everyone." Thomson folded his arms over his chest with a nod, "Do you have any secrets you'd like to share with us then, 'Captain'?"

The captain shifted in her seat, the tomato sauce in her mouth suddenly turning sour. She was about to smugly snipe him the same question, just to see how he'd react.

But instead, she froze, remembering what Baby had said the previous night, admitted a side of him darker and worse than any of them could imagine, let alone, assume.

Scrunching up her nose, she decided to break her vows, "Yeah, I have a secret." She snapped, meeting him in the 'eye', "I used to have everything. A house, an enjoyable job, a loving family - I once was written about in papers and had everything any kid ever wanted."

The woman paused as her guilty memories were rewinded back to her,

"But I lost it _,_ I lost everything. All because of one screw up. I lost contact with my family, I rented the cheapest apartment I could find, I worked two full-time jobs and lost all faith in myself. All because I broke my leg at the end of an ice skating tournament when I was 16."

The three men stared back at her absently, at a loss for words.

"But you know what happened?" She said, perking up, "I decided to leave it all behind, go on vacation, visit the newly announced 'Astrocitizen Program.' And now, here I am: stuck in the middle of space with three guys that I've barely met with an impossible chance for survival."

"...But you know what? Somehow, I feel better than I have in years. I have friends again, I have an unpredictable future, action, an unknown purpose, and best of all - I have faith in myself again." She spun to Tom with a spark of life present in her eyes.

"...But enough about me, what about you, Thomson?" She announced, without waiting for any response, "What do you have to confess?"

The brunett could only gaze at her, wide eyed, as he hesitantly tapped two fingers along his jawline. Baby and Emmet didn't dare cut in, they only watched attentively as they slowly sipped their last spoon-fulls of soup.

"Before I came to the program..." He paused, his voice suddenly soft and distant.

"...I was nobody... All my life, I wanted to be different, I wanted to see things nobody else has seen. Do things no one else has done. I tried out many jobs in my young years, hoping that one day, I could make something out of myself."

The middle aged man gazed into the remaining soup left in his can, lost in thought, "I read books about explorers and dare devils, hoping to one day know what their lives were like..." He trailed once more, before his voice flared up again.

"...And now, this is my chance. _Our_ chance, to make something of ourselves. We might be stuck here with the barest chance for survival, but we're alive. Against all odds. We might as well try make something out of this mess, right?"

"Exactly," Deedee stated, "The last thing we need now is more disagreements and drama. If we're going to get through this, we'll get through this together. Even if we die trying."

Emmet set his food down with a clank, "Become better versions of ourselves and finally be recognized and useful? Sounds like a plan."

"And put our pasts behind us." Baby chimed in with a grin.

Life on the shuttle didn't seem so dim for a change.

...

Unfortunately, Tom's inspiring speech could only motivate them for so long.

Days flew by, until the air in the bunker continuously grew heavier and hotter until it was almost unbearable. Deedee was out of ideas, assuming this was her punishment for the mask incident eight days ago.

Their food supply had declined rapidly over the coarse of five days, leaving them currently with... two cans. No signals sounded from the communicator, leaving them stranded and quest-less once again.

"I think now would be a great time to fix that damn generator..." Tom grumbled through clenched teeth, reaching the limit on his patience, "Just hurry up and fix it already! I feel like I'm back being a medic for a group of professional camel theives in the Gobi desert - and I sure as hell don't miss it!"

At this point, Deedee couldn't be sure if he was lying or telling the truth.

Emmet and Baby weren't looking any better, hunched over in their seats with sweat pouring down their flushed faces. They were already panting feverishly, which couldn't be a good sign.

The captain knew the oxygen starvation would have side effects. She cursed herself for overlooking it for so long. All because she didn't want to risk wasting a roll of duct tape three days earlier.

"I would, if only I knew how." She slurred roughly into her palm, "Do I have any volunteers?"

Baby jerked up in his seat, "I... might be able to help... kinda." He didn't sound nearly as confident as he looked. Deedee hesitated. "I'll do it." Emmet breathed from beside her, "I have a bit of experience, being scientific and all... That, and we can't risk killing anyone by any... explosions. It won't be pretty..."

The brawny man next to him sunk back in his chair, clearly feeling left out and useless in comparison. Dawkins' drained expression vanished once she realized.

"I think I'll give Bronco a chance on this one." She replied to her bright minded friend. He frowned dryly as the woman approached his polar opposite. The redhead shot up from his seat happily, glad to oblige.

The oxygen generator sputtered uselessly in the corner of the ship. Baby cracked his knuckles experimentally as he prepared to "fix" it. Tom lazily watched, intrigued, while Emmet could only shield his eyes, anticipating the worst.

"Ok - just remember we're trying to _fix_ it, not destroy it. If it breaks, there's a high chance we'll suffocate to death." Deedee explained carefully, eying his uneasy expression.

Bronco recoiled a bit at the advice, looking at his curled fists with a gulp, "...got it." He assured, mostly to himself than to the captain. The bulky young adult took a slow step back, like a pitcher during a baseball game, before batting an arm directly at the machine.

Everyone froze as the device spurred dangerously alive and choked out several clouds of smoke. Sparks flew as it rocked back and forth like a punching bag. In one heart-stopping moment of suspense, Baby thought he had ruined everything and they only had a few minutes left of oxygen to live.

Miraculously, it began to patiently whir back to life. A fresh gust of satisfying, icy air hit them all like a tidal wave. They gulped it down greedily.

"I'm sorry, but how in the hel- _heck_ \- did you know that would work?" Deedee stammered in disbelief.

Baby offered a sheepish smile, "I... uh, that's how I used to fix broken stuff at my home all the time!" He claimed, rubbing the back of his neck, "Pa taught me how. We lived in a sorta bad place where things were always breakin'. My parents got sick of dealin' with it after awhile and made me do it instead."

"...So they told you that punching was a way to fix things?" Emmet inquired with a look of confusion. "Well... yeah, they told me that punchin' could fix alot of things..." The former criminal replied, an odd look in his eyes.

Emmet glanced at him suspiciously, processing his words, "...I hope those _'things'_ didn't just happen to have pulses..." Baby's monobrow shot up, "Oh, of course not! We didn't use punchin' to do that, if we did, it'd get messy... We had plenty of other stuff-"

"Ok, I've heard enough."

Deedee glanced reluctantly at the shelves, unaware that she was already knawing at the lining of her glove. Tom noticed her obvious stress and scoffed, "You know you have to send someone out eventually. We have plenty of supplies, just give someone a gun and armor..."

He realized it might not be the soup stock she was worried about, and pondered a bit, "What are you so afraid of? No secrets, remember." It was meant to be a tease, but it didn't sound like one.

The blonde spoke quiet so the others wouldn't overhear, "We've come too far to lose anyone now. It's so risky to send someone outside alone, especially with the clan that's after us. It will be too easy to kill us off one by one..."

"But sitting here waiting for everyone to starve isn't exactly going to help, is it?" Tom cocked an eyebrow for emphasis, "Neither is recycling all the other items to replace what we don't have. You've gotta have faith in us. We can defend ourselves..." He glanced over his shoulder at Emmet's scrawny form, "...well, most of us, anyways..."

"Don't think we can't hear what your talking about over there." A certain dark-skinned crewmate snapped, glaring in his direction, "Maybe if you talked it out with all of us, we can figure something out."

Deedee nodded tiredly, letting out an exasperated sigh, "We'll have to decide who goes out tommarow. It has to be someone with the the lowest chance of dying to the storm or the soviets. But for today... I think we all deserve a break."

...

"Are you sure I should go _there_ of all places?"

Baby asked, trembling nervously on his feet. He was pointing fearfully at the pentagram hazard for the temple, looking not unlike a cheap, knock-off brand toy soldier with the bulky purple armor he was wearing.

Deedee frowned as she turned away to toss a newly crafted soup in the pantry.

Her muscley friend's fingers coiled around the butt of his weapon and he kept on self consciously itching the stubble hidden beneathe his mask.

"It's the only place ASTRO can find with available chemicals. The swamp is likely sucked dry of it's resources by now, so that's no longer an option. All we need to find now is food." The captain declared regretfully.

She stared at the ginger brokenly, about to tell him something else when Tom butted in, "Just try not to come back half dead like last time."

Baby forced himself to stand upright, strapping down the rest of his ratty armor before responding lowly, "Ok... I'll try."

But before he could slip out the door and into the endless flurry of sand, Emmet shot up, "Are you sure I shouldn't go instead? I've learned plenty about Earth's climate and weather patterns in books, maybe this place isn't much different?"

Bronco didn't look too willing to object, clearly afraid of what layed outside but still determined to help his crew. "But the soviet squad's out there. And we all got to see how you reacted to them last time..." Dawkins pointed out, recalling how he hid behind his chair the whole time like a coward.

Ellis looked offended, "That was different, I was the first one to get shot at!"

"Ok fine, it doesn't matter. We just need to find food." The woman said, sick of disagreeing with everyone all the time. She idly glanced at her other crewmember's contemplative appearance, "What do you think, Baby?" She cringed slightly as she mentioned his ironic name.

He hummed in response, somewhat considering before shaking his head, "I'll go. Just so I can teach those soviet _freaks_ a lesson if they wanna show up again." His tone was, for once, fitting for his hulking form.

He fastened his mask tighter to his jaw before opening the airlock. Winds screeched by as the storm persisted, but fell silent once the door slammed back shut.

With that, he was gone.

...

Captain Dawkins found her mind wandering back to the first day her and her crew had stranded themselves on the dead desert-like planet. It was only 16 days ago, but it felt like ages.

Today was almost same situation as then: Baby was gone, Tom and Emmet were stuck as her slaves, or rather, she was stuck as theirs, and the sky had a strange dark hue to it. One that they had never seen at any time before. Blots of red and black that only appeared when the yellow light faded away.

Previously, her team was completely clueless. The memory of being stuck with the arrogant, untrustworthy Tom and defiant Emmet for four straight days wasn't a fond one. That was back when she couldn't trust either them enough to send them out. That, or _insubordinance -_ as the ship's AI called it.

So instead, she took advantage of Baby's loyalty. (If his "ok" morale counted as loyal in that case.) She found herself regretting it later, feeling like it was her fault that he came back halfway dead. She could only hope it wouldn't happen again...

The instant she woke, the ache in her jaw hit the captain like a train wreck. Or more preferably, like a baseball bat to the head. She forced herself from her chair painfully and grabbed ASTRO's early announcements:

' _Captain, you seem to have been neglecting your oral hiegene for awhile now. Currently, you have a tooth that's infected. If you don't fix it, I'm afraid the matter will only get worse. And based on what I've seen with you fragile humans, a tooth infection can kill you faster than starvation or dehydration can. (Which makes me feel grateful that I'm not one.) Luckily, we just happen to have a bottle of aneste(TEEK) in the shelves that can help with its removal. Will you require an assistant for this procedure?'_

"What!? Oral hiegene? Did we have tooth brushes here this whole time?" Tom abruptly blabbered from behind her, startling Deedee back to her senses. His lone eye snapped to a cup next to the monitor, containing four of the dentistry devices, "What else do we have? Shampoo? Deodorant? Razors? Q-tips!?" "Wait, we have tooth brushes?" Emmet jolted up, confused, "It's been 27 days and you're just now telling us?"

Deedee furrowed her brows at ASTRO's AI module, wadding up all of it's useless papers, "I didn't know either, and now I'm stuck with this... jaw cancer..." She sighed heavily, leaning back against the rusted wall. "Well, I'm sure we all are at this point." Tom commented, self consciously licking his yellowing teeth.

"Maybe if we had the option to bring the mechanic on board, she could've re-invented a few things. She'd be like Emmet, but actually useful." He snorted, "Hey, Ellis? Why don't you try building us some stuff?"

"I can, but it takes alot of materials and resources to work with. The only way I can is to deconstruct each item we have, which breaks the game's rules." Emmet replied, winding an overgrown lock of hair around his finger.

Deedee was about to announce the rest of ASTRO's banter, but Tom's loud mouth struck up once more, "Gee, we could really use some scissors... you and Blondie look like you're growing mops over there."

"Oh thanks, it feels like one too." The woman responded sarcastically, while Emmet merely groaned. "Now who wants to help me with this stupid tooth? I'm not going to let _this_ of all things, kill me."

Both of her friends exchanged glances in obvious disgust. "Just tie the damn thing to a doornob and yank it out, it's not too hard." Tom encouraged, swinging an arm for emphasis. Deedee held her jaw and cringed at the gesture.

"...Well... I found this bottle of 'anesthetic', it might help with the-" Tom instantly shot up, "Oh! Then I'm the perfect man for the job! No worries!" He was about to snag the substance from her hands, but she snapped it away.

"Oh, so _now_ you want to help." She mocked, jiggling the bottle teasingly.

Then she paused, somewhat considering, as she met his pleading eye. She knew if she didn't do the procedure right, the pain would be intense... _very_ intense.

...and she heard Thomson mention that he was once a veterinarian...

With a frown, she attempted to negotiate, "...I'll let you have some, but only if you help me painlessly remove this infection. Got it, mister former animal specialist?"

"Got it." The man answered with a smug smile.

...

Baby marched through the sandy showers, spotting the faint siluette of the temple looming in the distance. He was almost there. So close. Barely thirty paces away. This time, he would make sure to make his team proud.

Breathing carefully through his mask, as to not accidentally suck in a lungful of sand (again...) Bronco trudged confidently up the mountain. When he broke through the doorway, he expected to find a luxury of chemicals or rocks and maybe even a few armfuls of soup.

But after he blinked the grain out of his stinging eyes, he found...

...nothing. Nothing but dust and a couple more piles of dirt. An empty corridor.

His cloudy green eyes jumped awake in panic. What would he tell his crew? What would they think? How would they react to him coming back empty handed? He ran his hands through his messy red hair to calm himself. Maybe he could find supplies on the way back. Then he paused, remembering what happened last time because of his 'bright ideas.'

Faintly, he heard a small clatter echo at him from deeper in the temple. Impulsively, he snapped his head to face it, and his eyes met the gaze of at least ten other beings standing where he had been seconds prior. Looking closer, he noticed the familiar space suits, the human faces that greeted his team two days ago.

The color vanished from Baby's face, his hands left his head to grip the handle of his weapon. He whipped it from his pocket and drew it at them threateningly. _It was an ambush._ That's what his parents used to shout when the bad guys popped up during jobs. He remembered hearing it once when police sirens rang through the alley and Papa gripped his hand so hard it bruised.

He lurched backwards just in time to avoid a blast from a gun. His feet slipped out from under him, but he managed to catch himself right in time to duck from another shot. He aimed his weapon again, despite how outnumbered he was in a comparison of 1 to 11. Most of the soviets already had him in their sights, it would be impossible for him to dodge all of their attacks at once.

But he decided to try regardless. The moment his finger squeezed the trigger, he was taken back to hearing his Pa's raspy chuckle, as he brandished his favorite pistol at him as if he were to shoot. All those years ago. Back when he was just a kid. The rugged man handed the weapon to him with that scary smile he always wore when he tried to look trustworthy. It never did.

Baby remembered the smoothness of the cool silver in his small hands. It was in the perfect condition for another job, before it would be destroyed and replaced with another that looked just like it. " _Always remember to destroy the evidence."_ Pa's haggard voice advised as he tossed that same pistol and a pair of boots into a fire. The fire of a house that was slowly burning down. The fire Baby had caused.

The boy could only watch as the place began crumbling down, staring with wide, hypnotized eyes. He remembered Pa wrapping his strong arm around him and laughing. " _You'll get used to it one day, kid."_

The gun went off. Instead of the bullet scewering the wall behind Pa's shocked face like he remembered - A powerful explosion of light and fire bursted from the barrel. It showered the men in a menacingly hot blast - Baby could hardly process what happened. He only realized that the other guns had fired when an indescribable pain tore into his right thigh.

He barely noticed his gun as it slipped from his hands. A howl of agony erupted from his throat and he crumpled to his knees. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt. He yanked his knee up to his chest, rolling backwards in a desperate attempt to escape his atttackers. A moment later, he found himself tumbling down a set of stairs. The planet's strange pull of gravity was no help to him, harshly yanking him back to the ground everytime he bounced away.

He remembered Ma. The way she wore her curly auburn hair on her shoulders and the cigarette or wine glass she always held in a hand. He remembered being hoisted into her lap and smelling the thick scent of perfume and smoke.

 _"Hush... don't you worry, little Bronco."_ She cooed to him while he was crying during a mission. She tilted his head up with a delicate hand, " _Once we get home, we can pretend none of this ever happened."_ He tried to, but it was hard to forget when they kept on going back.

Occasionally, she would snap. Become angry, nasty, scary, just like Papa did. They were too similiar. They would break things, shout, fight, curse, slur - for the smallest of reasons. Baby never understood why. He still didn't.

Once the miserable rolling stopped, the man drowsily came back to his senses, attempting to stand back to his feet. He slowly turned his head, finding the communists looking down at him from the top of the stairway. He was unsure if his gun did any damage to them, but now, he found himself too drained to care.

Once the spinning in his head dulled, he peered towards the hazy horizon. And once he gathered his bearings, he ran.

...

The blonde winced as the bloody tooth was jerked out of her mouth by a string tied to the handle of a cabinet. "See, I told you it wasn't such a bad idea." Her assistant said with a chuckle. The empty feeling and numbness in the back of Deedee's throat told her otherwise.

By the time she processed the damage and fought through the aneste(TEEK's) ditzy side effects, Tom was already halfway done chugging the bottle. She stumbled forward, snatching the substance from his hands before he could react.

"We need to save it for emergencies!" She blurted out in frustration, "At least _try_ to consider sharing some with the rest of us!" The former athlete already knew why he was so desperate to drink it, she wouldn't be surprised if he used to be an alcholic or drug addict back on Earth.

"Ah, that hit the spot..." The man shamelessly drawled, already swaying on his feet. Dawkins was about to spit her anger at him again, but held her tongue, "Thank you for helping me, regardless. I... don't think I could've done it all by myself. In a way, you could use that drug portion as a..." She grimaced, "...reward..."

Thomson saluted drunkenly, smirking as he waddled back into the bunker. He slid over to meet Emmet's startled form, "Whatcha lookin' at pal...?" He questioned awkwardly, "Wish ya coulda got some o' the stuff too, huh?"

"Uh... is he ok?" The black man asked, eying both of his teammates in confusion. "Er...Let's just say I wouldn't ever want him to be my dentist..." Deedee stated, her mentioned friend merely snickered, "I'll take that as a compliment~" He hovered dangerously over the communication system before slipping on it and toppling over. He landed flat on his face, completely limp and unresponsive.

"...And... that's why." Deedee concluded, facepalming in disbelief.

...

"I think something's wrong."

Emmet called from the window, staring aimlessly into the empty desert outside. He had been standing there for awhile. "What makes ya say that, small fry?" Tom crooned from his dizzy high, only half awake but still under the drug's influence. Somehow, he seemed even more like an annoying uncle in his current state.

"I heard... gunshots, I think. I don't know, maybe it's just paranoia..." Ellis muttered in response, eyelids flickering wearily. "...You're right." Deedee suddenly spoke up, "It's been too quiet."

"Foreshadowing, perhaps?" Tom chortled, picking at his teeth.

"I'll craft an extra mask for tommarow, so one of us can go out to check." The captain declared, ignoring her comrade's quirky comments. "Wouldn't that be breaking the game's rules?" Emmet replied nervously.

"The 'game' doesn't know that. Plus, it's broken enough as it is. We have to at least try." Deedee said matter-of-factly, "We all got to see what happened to him last time, and I don't want it to happen again."

She frowned at the memory of Baby's harsh, hacking coughs and nearly infected injuries. The way his chalk-white face contrasted with his blood-red hair. It wasn't something she wanted to see again. She plopped a set of chemicals in the crafting module as she promised.

When the ship's lights flickered off, Thomson slithered back in his seat, relishing in his mindless, temporarily drugged euphoria. He felt something solid prick at his back and winced. Inspecting the odd disturbance, he discovered something he thought was just an impossible hallucination.

 _\+ Fully Upgraded Gas Mask._

...

The captain strapped the newly crafted mask to her face, gazing at the airlock with uncertainty. "Are you sure it's a good idea to go out there alone?" Emmet inquired, eying her anxiously, "If you die, this all ends, remember last time?" The woman nodded, but didn't look fazed, "Like I said before," She claimed, "I'm not breaking any promises."

"What's the tape and artifact for then?" The dark-skinned man pointed out, gesturing to the items hidden in her suit collar. The woman smiled half-heartfully, "The tape's for fixing my problems and the artifact is just for good luck." She took a step towards the door, about to enter the relentless sandstorm, just as Baby did a few days before.

"We can wait another day, right? Make another extra mask so you can take me or Tom along. That way we have a better chance of surviving and searching for Baby." Emmet spoke up in an insistant ramble. "You know we can't last any longer with our soup supply empty like this. Like Tom said, we have no other choice but to starve." He heard from the doorway.

Ellis was about to object once more, but before he knew it, she was already gone.

He sunk back in his tattered chair, drumming his fingers on the arm rest restlessly. That's what he used to do back when he sat alone in his classroom. Waiting for his next group of students to slide in the door, slump boredly in their seats, and gaze into space once he started giving lectures.

He would watch some, amused, when they doodled mindlessly on their chalkboards instead of listening. Then he'd tap a finger on their desk to get their attention. " _Hey, Johnny? What's the chemical formula for water?"_ He asked one of them once, the freshman stammered a random answer, unaware of the one that was written clearly on the board. Emmet could only sigh in dissapointment.

Once he sat down, he always found himself getting lost in his thoughts. Staring out the window, thinking about his childhood and college years, wondering about his future... _"Are you ok, Mr. Ellis?"_ A student asked him one day, a smaller boy with big round glasses. The man looked at him and smiled, readjusting the silver watch on his wrist, _"I'm fine."_ He said, " _Just a little tired today, that's all."_

The sour sweet memory served as a reminder to him that some of his students really did care. That one in particular reminded Emmet of himself when he was in school. Small, smart, vulnerable. _Too_ vulnerable...

"...I guess it's just you and me, Tom..." He spoke under his breath, reminding himself that he wasn't alone in the shuttle. But no response came. Not even a completely off topic joke uttered from the darkness. "...Tom?" The former chemistry teacher tried again. Still nothing. It was then he saw that all the other seats were completely empty, without a clue of anyone else in sight.

Emmet darted to the bunker's window, brown eyes searching the sandy abyss for anything - anyone. Instead, he found that he was absolutely alone.

...Just like back in his empty old classroom.

...

Baby couldn't remember how long it had been since the encounter in the temple. All he knew was that he was chased into a cave by the communists and his gun was nowhere to be found.

His bleary memory could hardly recall the moment he heard the men's footsteps approaching from the cave's entrance - before slowly, but surely, sulking away.

It was impossible for him to sleep after that. Or, at least, he could only manage a few minutes, at most. In the meantime, he quietly farmed for rocks to bring back to his crew. Any abrupt crack of a mineral that hit the ground jolted him back to attention. Until he realized he was still alone in the darkness, and continued.

The throbbing in his leg only got worse as time passed. He assumed it was caused by two lucky bullets that hit him and seared through his pantleg. The blood was still dripping and seeping further down his knee, which couldn't be a good sign. Neither was the sudden dizziness he felt every time he stood to his feet. Regardless, he was lucky that his armor was able to deflect most of the attacks. If not, his condition would be alot worse.

Baby desperately wanted to return to his friends. He yearned to hear their voices and reunite with them safely back on the ship. But if the bad guys found him, he doubted he could outrun them again. They could be anywhere in the storm, they could be waiting outside for all he knew.

Hours ticked by, until the burly man was sure he had waited long enough to go back to the shuttle. His stomach gurgled determiningly at the thought of finding food outside, while his heart beat mercilessly in fear of unknown.

His team would be looking for him, he knew. If he took too long... they would think he died. The ginger's face paled at the thought. That was the reason the captain was so afraid of sending anyone out. He needed to go back. He needed to make sure they knew he was alive.

With that in mind, he begrudgingly stood to his feet. He flinched as his leg spasmed in agony at the action, but he forced himself forwards anyway. _Go North._ He reminded himself dazily, _North is where the others are waiting._

The howling of the wind muted all else as he pushed on through the endless sand. Bronco couldn't tell if it was the storm or his own mind that was making it hard to focus.

He trudged on, hoping he wouldn't get lost in the mess of whisping wind. His attention began to waver as his journey dragged on. He could swear there were hazy figures wandering in front of him. The redhead blinked, shook his head, and when he looked up, they were gone.

He frowned, guessing that it was his muddled mind playing tricks on him. Then, the figures appeared again. Only this time, they became the members of his crew. Searching for him. A dim lantern-like lighter set ablaze in the captain's hands.

" _Baby! Where are you!?"_ He heard her shout against the wind ...or was it the wind...? " _Are you out there!? Say something!"_

The bulky man shook his head, trying to snap himself out of the hallucination, if it even was a hallucination. But they were still there. He squinted at them, trying to make out the shapes of the silluettes. ...Since when did they learn how to craft expedition helmets...?

"...I'm... I'm right here!" He boomed suddenly, waving his arms despite the risks of enemies nearby, "I'm here...!" He took no notice of his voice beginning to slur. He bounded towards them, twitching every time his right foot hit the ground.

Their faces and voices began to distort, catching him off guard. He froze, gazing at them with clouded green eyes, confused. The supposed "Deedee" pointed a gun at him with no hesitation.

"Hey, it's me!" He held out his hands sluggishly, "It's ok, Dee..." His eyes grew, watching as his team's faces marred into those unrecognizable. Their expressions were unforgiving and on their helmets marked a signature red star. A bullet bounced off of his armor, proving his horrors to be true.

 _Oh no..._ He jerked backwards as he heard another gun go off, the bullet missing his head by a hair. _No!_ He scrambled in the other direction, pushing the route to the ship in the back of his mind.

...

Gunshots.

Deedee's head snapped in the direction they came from. Up the hill. Or was it somewhere to the left...?

More gunshots.

 _In front of her._ _Towards the cave._

Not wasting a second on wondering how she could defend herself, she bolted towards it. Using her athletic skills to her advantage. Once she made it over the ridge, she saw them. Ten communists chasing something running desperately away with an injured limp. The hint of orange was all she needed to know who it was.

With a fresh burst of energy, Deedee sprinted forward. The men were gaining on her friend fast, and his tattered armor could only last against the hammering bullets for so long.

 _ **"BLAM. BLAM. BLAM."**_ Her eyes darted to a new figure ahead of her. Something that wore a perfect set of albino armor and a full mask that obscured it's facial features. It was shooting at the soviets, seemingly trying to distract them - or kill them. She could hardly believe it.

Her attention was snapped back as she realized, in horror, that the enemies were only a few paces away from Bronco. She was barely ten feet apart from them by now, all she had to do was... her thoughts were stripped from her as her eyes bugged in terror.

"B-Baby! Turn around!" She didn't intend for the words to slip from her lips, but they did, regardless. Everyone's gaze landed on her, including the childlike giant's. His terrorfied and bewildered, yet rugged, appearance was scarred into her memory.

Right as they made eye contact, the other being tackled him straight into the ditch Dawkins tried to warn him about. She noticed how they somehow narrowly dodged a well-aimed bullet by the action. But they only did so by putting their lives in double jeopardy. The blonde flew to the ledge of the great abyss, searching for them, praying that they were still alive.

Baby grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut as a whole new wave of pain wracked through his leg. He attempted to blink the blurriness from his vision, just so he could stare wonderously at his rescuer, who wore a fully upgraded face mask.

He could swear it was trying to tell him something, but his attention began to fail him again. He found himself lost to reality, head lolling sideways and eyes rolling pa-

A gloved hand roughly slapped him in the face, waking him from his trance. Baby blinked blearily, hearing more gunshots crack distantly through the air. "We need to go! Get up now, we don't have much time!" It was Tom's voice, and he sounded urgent... "Hurry up, they'll find us at any second!"

Yet another blast pierced a hole in the ground next to him, jolting him awake. He sat up, mind fuzzing as he felt someone else at his side. "Deedee!? What the hell are you doing here!? You'll blow our cover!" The man in the mask squealed in shock. _The captain._

She was real, this time. He could feel her hands grazing his leg, examining the untreated bullet wounds. With a short gasp of surprise, she tore a roll of tape from her collar, winding it carefully around his injuries.

"Are you ok?" She asked, he vaguely felt her touching his face, looking him straight in his unfocused eyes. The moment was all-too-familiar. He knew better than to lie in his current state. Instead, he said nothing.

A shot whizzed past Dawkins' shoulder before anyone could react. It tore right into the flesh of Tom's left arm. He bit back a shriek, stumbling backwards as blood gushed freely. _The bullet hit an artery._ He quickly realized. Baby yelped, stepping back in petrified fright.

"The tape." Tom rasped at the captain, eye wide, "Give me the ta-"

Just like that, the soviets were on them, their guns drawn. Thomson didn't hesitate tearing out his own weapon, opening fire on all of them, but to his horror, it jammed. Only mustering a feeble clicking noise.

Right as it sounded, three more precisely-aimed bullets sheared straight through his arm. A sickening crunch cracked through the quiet air. Baby could only stare, speechless, as he shrunk himself further in a corner. While Deedee stood, frozen, the tape her teammate ordered still clasped between her trembling fingers.

The sound of something wet slapping against the rocky ground was next. Then, the coppery scent of blood. Tom's eye was glassy, distant - almost unbelieving. He swayed on his feet, like he had the day prior after he greedily chugged down ASTRO's anesthetic. This was completely different.

Unpredictably, he plucked the remaining tape from his captain's limp hand. He wasn't looking at her, rather past her, going into shock. Suddenly, his knees buckled from under him, it was only then Deedee realized that he was teetering on the edge of the cliff.

It happened so fast. She leaped forward, outstretching a hand to grab his collar - but instead... grabbed nothing. Bronco barely caught her from slipping off the edge, determined to save her from following the same fate. The woman could only watch, helplessly, as her friend fell into the empty blackness. She wanted to say something, but all that came out was a broken choke.

Baby tugged her back to safety, eyes glazed in his own mental turmoil. He tried his best not to accidentally glance at Tom's disembodied arm laying in a pool of red beside him. Deedee attempted to look in his direction, but instead, she found the barrel of a gun pointed directly at her head. It hadn't fired yet, as if hesitating. Reminding her it wasn't over.

She felt a hand prod at her collar, but she didn't dare move a muscle. The men started muttering things in Russian, idly conversing among themselves despite the fact they just secondarily murdered someone only moments ago. A new feeling of hatred boiled in Dawkins' gut. She managed the courage to face them, seeing the beings gathered around the golden cow artifact she had brought with her.

 _For good luck._ She recalled herself saying to Emmet. The communists had put their guns away, and looked far less threatening than earlier. But before her befuddled mind could process what was happening, they already started walking away, taking the artifact with them.

The blonde finally looked towards Baby, who was twisting his hands in a mix of anger and disgust, clearly upset, "Th-Th-They killed him..." He rumbled, his voice beggining to slur, "...and they're jus'...they're just gonna walk away like that?"

The strange look in his eyes during insanity had returned, Deedee couldn't tell if it was deliriousness from blood loss or not. He gazed at her, as if awaiting her permission. Like a vicious hunting dog ready to kill. She hesitated, before she discovered the limb and scattered blood behind him.

...then nodded with a look poisonous enough to kill.

...

Once their journey back to ths shuttle began, the two were completely silent. Baby kept restlessly wiping his hands on his armor, eager to get the red stains away. Trying to pretend it didn't happen.

Deedee continuously snuck peeks at him, noticing his fluttering eyes, wobbling legs, slumped posture - he looked like he was on the verge of collapsing at any moment. But he didn't. At least not yet.

The former athlete decided to distract herself from her worries, inspecting the strange diagram her comrade had discovered on the soviets. Russian words were written at the top, and three triangles were drawn. One of them had a checked-off box labled next to it, while the others were empty.

"Do you have any idea of what these drawings could mean?" She spoke, breaking the unforgiving silence, "It looks like it was copied from somewhere. Drawn, I think."

Baby squinted at the paper, mind buzzing, "I think I saw some... triangle-ish buildings back by the swamp that looked kinda like that..." He mumbled, his attention slowly venturing back to his feet rather than the captain.

The blonde rose a brow, "You mean pyramids?" The man only shrugged. Dawkins frowned, studying the paper a bit more. "It might be a puzzle... we should get it to Emmet. Maybe he can translate it for us."

Her friend merely hummed, shuffling his feet idly through the sand. Before long, they were almost back at the ship. Even so, every step her companion took was noticably weighing him down. He was lagging more and more behind as they went on.

"Are you sure you can keep going? We can always stop to rest, you know." The woman pointed out. The ginger huffed a reply, stubbornly shaking his head. But after a short moment of indecision, he shamefully droned, "I couldn't find anythin' at the Temple... I only found a few rocks from the cave, after bein' cornered by the soviets. They got there before I did - n' opened fire. That's where _this,"_ He gently patted his injured thigh, "came from."

Deedee grimaced, a mental image of the encounter flashing in her head. She eyed his suddenly quivering shoulders, "I should'a came back sooner, but I was afraid I'd drag e'm back with me. I wanted to deal with them myself, but... I was clumsy. I lost my gun... and my leg..."

The man's voice faltered, "And poor Tom, I-" He choked, "If I just came back - none of his would have happened." The captain swiftly caught him before he slipped off his feet. She strained under his weight as she helped him sit down.

"It's not your fault." She assured, rubbing a hand along his back, "I... I don't even know how he got out. Not to mention where he got a perfectly upgraded set of armor and a gun and mask!"

Baby said nothing, his focus lost to the musky desert setting whisping behind her. The star was slowly rising, tinting the dark sky back to a brisk, lemon yellow.

"It doesn't matter." The blonde continued, "We'd be dead right now if it wasn't for him. We have to survive. Not lose hope. That's... what he would've wanted." _What would he have wanted?_ She began to wonder.

The limber blonde continued to stroke the redhead's back, comfortingly. Trying to ease his worries. Reminding him that he was safe again and no longer alone. She noticed the tears ripped in his uniform and how the ugly purple bruises marred on his usually smooth ivory skin.

The fatigue was visable on Bronco's weary face. His eyelids were drooping again, his previously hunched torso finally relaxed. Dawkins almost thought he would fall asleep right then and there.

"Do you think they deserved it?" He spoke out of the blue. Deedee was about to ask 'what?' but froze when she saw him staring brokenly at the blood still smeared on his gloves. She licked her teeth in uncertainty, "I... I don't know." She slowly answered, "But they attacked us first before when we meant no harm. We were only trying to protect ourselves. We couldn't risk someone else dying by their hands."

Baby faintly nodded, his half-lidded eyes were inspecting the ripples appearing and dissapearing in the sand. "That's what Ma' and Pa' used to do all the time. Because I helped e'm and did _this..."_ He trailed, "Does that mean I'm no better than they are?"

That made Deedee think. "Not if you didn't know any better and thought they had good intentions..." She soothed, resuming her careful hand motions.

After a couple moments, the fog cleared and she spotted their shuttle sitting aimlessly in the distance. Hesitantly, she stood to her feet. Her brawny crewmate jerked to face her, the fear of being left behind present in his eyes. Noticing, she extended out a hand,

"C'mon, we can't keep Emmet waiting in the ship alone."

...

"He's... He's really gone?"

Ellis stammered, unsure of what to say. Normally, he wouldn't have been surprised. There were plenty of ways for them to die out there, but by _communists_ of all things?

"We're not sure, but we saw enough blood to scar us for a life time." Deedee spoke miserably, removing the mask from her face, "The last thing he did before he slipped off the edge was take the tape." Her chemist set a hand to his chin, finding the news almost impossible to believe.

Baby hissed as the captain attempted to peel the bloodied tape from his leg. It was almost glued on at that point, and any pull at it burned like fire. The captain began to regret using the sticky side to innovate as an elastic bandage. She could already see how red and blistered the wound became because of it.

A half-empty bottle was slid towards the redhead, he peeked up, confused. Then stared at it tentatively. "Drink it and you'll feel better. It will help with the pain." He heard Dawkins say, a worrisome look present on her face.

She set the medical supplies on the table, making it clear that she was going to treat him wheither he liked it or not. Which meant stripping off every last strand of tape. His stomach queased at the thought. With one more uneasy glance at the medicine in front of him, he twisted off the cap and bravely downed it all in one gulp.

He gagged at the unpleasant taste. It reminded him of what Pa' used to make him drink when he wouldn't quit crying during jobs. Tangy, sour, strange... the stuff that lingered sickenly on his tongue. It wasn't a good memory.

The redhead layed back, watching his crewmates as an odd wave of drowsiness came over him. His captain unraveled a piece of paper from her suit collar, then offered it at Emmet. "Do you think you can figure out this puzzle? Baby found it in one of the Russians' bags before they... left."

The way she skimmed over their fate made the brawny man's stomach churn. "Russian? I might have learned a few words..." Ellis claimed, plucking the paper from her hands, "I haven't practiced in awhile, so it might be a bit off..." He began to sketch out the translations with a make-shift pen.

"Hey, there's... there's three towers down there, by that mountain," Bronco felt the need to blurt out, woozily pointing to some place past the window, "I only went o'er there once, but... it looks a'most jus' like that drawin' does there..."

It took him a minute to realize that his team was staring at him, almost amused. He lazily set a hand to his scruffy face, "Now that I think 'bout it... there's proba'ly more of those soviets out there," He scowled, "An' I'm beginn'in' to hate this place cuz of em..." He was getting annoyed at how heavy his tongue felt all the sudden. Then, he became entranced by his glove's weird design. Was it always that fuzzy?

Deedee tried to stifle a giggle, but failed. "We'll try to be careful next time, don't worry." She said, clicking open the box of medical supplies. As soon as her joy appeared, it vanished. "For now, just go to sleep so you don't feel any pain. We'll be fine as long as we stay here."

"What'a 'bout the triangles? Isn't one of us supposed ta' go out an' check on e'm...?" Baby asked, his eyelids fluttering as he fought the side effects of the medicine. The captain paused at the thought. "I'll... have to think about it."

Bronco frowned, faintly knowing that it was his fault she was afraid. All because he messed up. He always messed up. "...'m sorry..." He mumbled, unaware that the apology even slipped from his lips.

Dawkins' face softened sympathetically, but she said nothing. She watched as he sleepily sunk his head in his arms, then went limp. She assumed he had finally gave in to the anesthetic, and reluctantly reached for his tape-bundled leg. "...Hey, Dee...?" She froze, seeing he had peeped open his eyes again, although semi-consciously.

"Hm?" The woman hummed, bringing her hand back to her side.

The ginger looked contemplative, distracting himself by tapping his fingers idly on the table. "...Are you sure... we're all gonna en' up survivin'...? Ev'n after what happen'd to Tom...?" He slurred, his eyes growing more cloudy and distant as he continued.

"I haven't broke my promise yet," The woman declared firmly, "We're going to get through this. Even if it kills us." Baby tried to sputter out something else, but she gently shushed him, "We'll try our hardest to survive, don't worry. Even if we have to start going on expeditions all together to do it, we will."

A smile tugged at Bronco's lips, one that the captain hadn't seen in a long time. "That's jus' what I wanted to hear..." He bumbled. Wheither it was sincere or just deliriousness from the drug, Deedee couldn't tell.

The man buried his face into the crook of his arm, inhaling deeply. "...goodnight, Cap..." He purred absently, almost like a child who was just tucked in to bed.

...

"...Goodnight."

* * *

Notes: Here's more trivia notes for those curious or interested below.

-I like the idea of the events in the game having more of an impact on the story, as you can see here. Such as the communists, there are plenty of risks of sending your crew out.  
And if they're unlucky, (which Baby Bronco definitely is) it can lead to a death trap.

-Also, the captain can go out to check on the crew outside because there's no realistic reason why they wouldn't, (other than the risk of dying, of course)

-The reason Tom randomly found the upgraded armor, gun, and mask was because of his "Hoarder" trait. That's why he collected so much stuff on his last expedition. In other words, he's God-like in this story.

-The part where Baby drinks the medicine and is reminded of his parents making him take drugs to calm down is a headcanon I stole off of Discord. It's too messed up not to include here.

-A reaccuring theme in this story is that ASTRO can't speak. That was intended because if it could speak, why would it print out daily messages for everyone to read?

-There's an event in the game that reveals that the shuttle has toothbrushes, which I find a bit hard to believe.

I hope you all enjoyed the suspense and action I sprinkled in for this chapter. Hopefully, the last parts make up for all the chaos that happened. Cause wow, there was alot.

What do you guys think will happen next? How do you think it will end?

Don't be afraid to leave your thoughts and rambles in the reviews!


	6. Home

Author's note: Well, here it is, everyone - it's finally over.  
This was a really sour-sweet chapter to write, but I'm very proud of how it turned out. This is yet another 9,000+ word montrosity, but it makes up for it in the end.  
I might write a few more stories on this game as well. Like I said before, there's tons of scenarios I'd like to explore. But in the meantime, I'm going to take a nice, refreshing break from writing - cause holy heck I need one. When you read, keep in mind that this was supposed to be based off of jacksepticeye's first letsplay lol.  
Pretend that this whole story is an alteration of it, where he takes Emmet instead of Maegan and the game glitches out and becomes awfully realistic for no reason. As always, let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments, I hope you enjoy^^

* * *

Deedee rarely had dreams. She barely slept at all, really. But ever since the days of caffeine deprivation started, it eventually became easier and easier for her. _Withdrawal,_ she'd scoff, rolling her eyes. But tonight was different. Sleep was no longer a peaceful, relaxing, and careless time of the day.

She tossed and turned, the memory of Tom's expressionless face flashing again and again in her mind. The gunshots, the blood, the pummeling sand, none of it she wanted to remember. _"We're all going to make it out of this together."_ She recalled declaring to her team. But she was the one to miss Thomson's collar by an inch when he fell.

But what if she caught him? What would it change if she did? She couldn't help but wonder. She could've bandaged his arm with tape, but would it have worked? Could he have lived? Or would he have bled out and died right in front of her and Baby's eyes instead...?

The thought was unnerving. If it happened, it would have been scarring for her. Even more scarring for poor Bronco. She glanced over at his sleeping form in the dark. He was snoring quietly, his head still resting in his arms, and his leg fully bandaged. The blood stains and bruises were the only traces left of the encounter from before.

He seemed so peaceful, blissfully unaware of the trauma they had faced. Somehow forgotten it all, as if it never happened. A selfish side of the captain wished she had taken the medicine instead, maybe then she would feel better - forgotten it all. Disappeared.

 _"Th-Th-They killed him."_ She remembered Baby thundering back in the ditch from before. He was grinding his teeth, and the look he gave her... The look of hurt, sadness, and fury. She knew she couldn't let the soviets get away with what they'd done. She couldn't risk them hurting anyone again.

The guilt and regret Baby wore on his face afterwards was indescribable. The amount of blood mudded on his trembling hands was frightening. _"I'm sorry."_ She told him, slowly realizing what he had done and all that had happened. The man gulped back his tears, but couldn't look at his hands, not even at her.

" _It's ok..."_ Was all he had to say before he turned and limped towards the horizon. Dawkins could only hope that the anesthetic made him forget what happened. He didn't deserve to be haunted by something that she was responsible for.

Minutes ticked by as the blonde eyed the airlock anxiously, almost expecting Tom to burst inside again with that stupid smirk he always did, topping it off with a smug; " _Did you miss me?"_ Just like that faithful night...

But nothing came. Nothing changed. Just a dull, airy silence as a reminder of what they were missing. And all Deedee could do was close her eyes and hope the blackness would wash her worries away. She knew she couldn't let Baby or Emmet down, not now. Not at the brink of hopelessness.

They were the last family she had. Her _only_ family. Without them, she would be completely alone. Her stomach churned as her mind wandered deeper into her fears. She imagined watching them both die the same way as Tom. Only instead, she would catch Bronco by the arm before he slipped, but she couldn't cling on.

His petrified and bewildered expression flashed in her memory again. The look of pure desperation. She could imagine the feeling of his bulky arm slipping from her whenched fingers, the merciless aching of her muscles, his weight dragging her down with him. Would she have fallen with him in order to escape her lonely fate? Could she last living in the shuttle completely alone? Could she have dealt with seeing him, too, fall into the empty blackness?

Taking a deep and steady breath, she reminded herself that they were fine. They were safe. They couldn't lose hope. They would get through it together. _"I haven't broken my promise yet."_ She had told Baby only a few hours prior. They would survive, she reassured herself. She refused to fail anyone else. They had to be strong. _She_ had to be strong.

With that in mind, she lulled herself into a dreamless sleep.

...

"I think I've got it!"

Emmet's proud voice announced from the bunker, interrupting Deedee's desperate coffee-creating experiment, "It's a prophecy, I assume. And because these shapes just happen to be in the same position as those pyramids - as Baby mentioned earlier - They must be connected, somehow."

Dawkins sighed, sauntering over with her trademarked astrocitizen mug in hand, "What about the text at the top? Were you able to translate it?" "Yes, of course," Ellis cleared his throat respectively, "The heart of the sun shall be set ablaze... The moon shall be nourished by a fruit from the earth... An object of worship shall ignite a star..."

"...Is that it?" The woman questioned after the long pause, "It's just a riddle?" "Not just any riddle..." The chemist pointed out, adjusting his glasses, "I think I've already figured it out, but I need to visit one of the temples to find out for sure."

Emmet noticed Deedee's concerned stare, and frowned sourly, "You can't risk leaving Baby here by himself anyways. Don't worry about me. I'll come back. If I see any more of those communists, I won't hesitate killing them." He declared, gesturing towards the rusty shovel propped near the door.

"Ok." The former athlete spoke, defeated, "I believe you. Just come back quick so we don't have to worry. That way, we can go out together for the next trip." A faint smile tugged at her lips, she knew that Tom would laugh in utter disbelief if he were there. Regardless, it was obvious that she was afraid. She didn't want him to leave alone and risk dying, but they had no choice.

 _"We can't last much longer with our soup supply empty like this. Like Tom said, we have no choice but to starve."_ The blonde remembered telling him previously, she slumped back in her seat bitterly.

Emmet plucked the shovel from the floor, studying the dents and scrapes from the attack ten days ago, "Make sure to take care of Baby while I'm gone. Based on what he's told me, he wouldn't want to feel responsible for what happened yesterday."

Dawkins' expression tensed, "I will. I know he needs it." She assured, understanding his worries. Watching the chemist cautiously activating the door, she added, "Safe travels." Once the airlock fell shut, a knot formed in her throat. That was what she told Tom when she first sent him out... after handing him the broken lighter. She felt guilty now, she was so spiteful at him and his shameless comic relief. She was so careless, so ungrateful.

The way he came back so drained and lifeless. She didn't ask him what happened during his journey... She didn't even have a chance to tell him she was sorry. A sour taste appeared in her mouth, and it wouldn't go away.

Deedee caught a glimpse of Baby rummaging with his collar in his seat, looking slightly anxious. "Feeling any better?" She asked him curiously. He blinked at her sluggishly, but nodded with a short hum. His fingers gripped the hem of his suit tighter, "My tongue's jus' a bit... heavy... but my leg 's not hurtin' as bad, at least..." The young adult answered gingerly. His eyes were still noticeably glazed over from the drug.

"Good." Deedee said with a weak smile, "I tried to patch up your suit too. So none of those scrapes or bruises risk getting infected." Bronco studied the stitches in a particularly large rip in his shirt. A long, jagged tear caused by the planet's unforgiving climate. Some parts of his battered arm were still visible beneath the broken fabric.

His eyes barely wavered, his expression slack. "Thank you." He blurted out among the silence, "...When this happened durin' jobs, Ma' and Pa' didn't do much for me... No matter how much I whined n' cried, they jus'... gave me a toy or a nasty drink to shut me up. I still dunno if they really cared or not..."

Deedee scrunched her nose, while the man fidgeted with his shirt, looking dazed, yet contemplative. "What were... your parents like...?" He questioned hesitantly, catching the captain by surprise. "Oh, _mine?"_ She stammered, not expecting it, "They were a, uh... rich, upper class couple, believe it or not. They always said that they were proud and that they believed in me... but that was all before I screwed up." She scoffed, "Broke my leg, you know the story... I let them down, and I still haven't forgiven myself for it."

Baby frowned, inspecting a squished soup can near his feet, "That... kinda happened to me too..." He confessed, his deep voice suddenly going soft, "But mine... never thought I was anythin' more than brawn. Nothin' but a stupid burden. A libee... liby... liability. When I let e'm down, I got spotted by cops, earned a bullet to the gut, Pa' was about ta' leave me behind..."

Deedee's face went white at the mention. "I a'most thought he would, but... There was this look in 'is eyes... it was fear-like, an' my Pa' wasn't afraid of nothin'. The next thing I knew, I was back at home. 'im and Ma' were there, cursin' up a storm. I could tell they were real upset. But I knew that they were sad, too. They had to be... unless, that's jus' what I wanna believe..." Baby continued, toying with his hands.

"They turned me in to the cops. An' no matter how many times I told the guards that they were lyin' about me lyin' - they wouldn't listen. I dunno... maybe it was for the best. After awhile I jus'... started blamin' myself for it all..."

"Don't say that." Dawkins snapped, a pang of sadness jolting through her. She knew he didn't go too deep into detail about his past when Emmet was there. It might have been the mind-numbing effects from the anesthetic, but she couldn't tell. Learning more about it only made her feel more guilty.

"Your past makes mine look like a paradise. You didn't deserve it, neither of us did. There's no point in blaming ourselves, now. If anything, we should be glad that we're hundreds of thousands of lightyears away from it all."

"Right." The ginger replied, a half-hearted smile grazing his lips. He peered out the window, into the brand new array of temples looming tall in the distance. His grin faded, "I'm sorry for lettin' you down after all of my... dumb expeditions..."He said, monobrow furrowing. "It's fine." Dawkins assured, "At least you came back alive, that's a reward enough."

"I jus' wish I could'a done better. Fought those soviets like I promised." He muttered, groggily resting his face back in his hands. "If I knew that the clan would be there, I wouldn't have sent you." Deedee claimed. She tapped finger on the table in hesitation, "And I'm sorry for letting you kill them. I didn't want them to get away with what they did and... I know the violence can't be a good memory... especially with your parents..."

"It's alright, Cap." He replied sour-sweetly, "I was scared. I didn't want e'm to hurt anyone else either. I couldn't let e'm get away...an'... poor Tom..." His fingers dug into his collar again, rubbing at an unseen object. Dawkins couldn't help but stare curiously. Baby caught her gaze, and hunched his shoulders, almost shamefully. His hand curled protectively around the hidden item.

"Oh sorry, it's ok if you don't-" The captain tried, but froze when her friend revealed it regardless. _An... action figure?_

...

Panting heavily from fatigue, Emmet paused at the foot of the star temple. He tried to brush the sweat from his face, but scowled, realizing his knuckles were merely smacking his helmet's glass. He could still feel the hot, sandy wind whipping at him from behind. Debris of the ancient building was scattered at his feet, blending in with the lemon-colored sod.

He eyed the artifact in his hands, studiously. _An item of worship._ He recalled reading on the paper. What else that the crew had could fit into that category? They didn't exactly remember to grab a cross before the station exploded.

The pyramid was breathtaking, and so were the other structures blurred into the blazing horizon. Even if the prophecy - or more specifically - _riddle,_ didn't work, there was bound to be something there. Or at least, a small percent chance, as he calculated.

The former chemistry teacher slipped into the doorway, and instantly, his brown eyes went wide. An endless hallway decorated with egyptian cow statues awaited him inside. Holding his shovel close, he began his suspenseful journey through the cold, cave-like dungeon. The narrow hallways seemed neverending, twisting and blending together like a labyrinth.

Too bad the lighter was recycled and the expedition module wasn't fully upgraded. Emmet felt like he was walking in circles, wandering alone in an invisible maze. But at least he hadn't found any soviets yet. A bit ironic that they wouldn't camp inside the _star_ temple, he thought spitefully.

Right when Ellis was about to turn away from (yet another) dead end, he spotted an orange light blink from a room he didn't recognize. He furrowed his brow, confused, but drew his shovel threateningly.

"A-Anyone there?" He called, his voice wavering despite his efforts of a courageous facade. No response. Emmet's noodle-like legs shook with adrenaline, but he forced himself to slink forward regardless - weapon extended like a sword. Then, he paused, jaw dropping, before awkwardly attempting to clean his glasses behind his mask.

A gold mine, the brick rocks polished into a fine bronze and silver. A shrine, it seemed. The chemist barely noticed the giant cow statue as he approached. He yelped as he spotted the thing's jaws stretched wide with sharp, jagged teeth. After exhaling in relief, he became captivated by the runes carved into the walls.

Hieroglyphics of cows were sketched along the rocks, spreading up to the ceiling and pillars. They appeared oddly similar to the artifact he held. The scientist thought hard, glancing from it to the statue, then at it's gaping mouth.

He curiously rose a brow, before setting the golden item inside. The structure's teeth immediately snapped shut, making the black man's heart skip a beat. It sunk into the floor, making a sound similar to chalk grating against a chalkboard. Then, a clump of materials fell from the ceiling. They plopped onto the floor, right at Ellis' feet.

He gaped in awe, searching among the rubble to find precisely four soup cans and three flasks of chemicals. Stuffing it all into his space suit, he peered up at the ceiling, forcing a gleeful grin, "Thank you..." He said to no one in particular, bowing respectively. Without further ado, he stormed back to the temple's entrance.

...

"I've always pretended that I was 'im durin' jobs. Mainly when I hurt the bad guys, or well... people." Baby blambered to the captain, studying the tiny action figure in his hands. His lips were tight in a frown, but his expression was innocent, looking much too young compared to the rest of him, "Bu' he's cool, right? A _real_ superhero - cape and everythin'..."

Deedee watched with discomfort as he mimicked flight with the disfigured toy, sputtering airplane noises with a childish grin. It was almost like he had reverted back to his childhood years. As odd as it was, she couldn't help but feel bad for him.

Baby froze a moment, pausing the toy in mid-flight before turning to her, "Wanna giv' 'im a go?" He held out the item generously, eyes beaming. Deedee eyed him up and down, like she had back when he was insane. But reluctantly, she plucked it from his hands.

"He... is pretty interesting..." She offered, examining the multicolored mess of plastic. " _The soviet socker"_ The ginger had called it, harshly reminding her of the event she encouraged the day before, "So...this was your only friend back on Earth?" She asked after a moment of silence. Baby merely chuckled, a low, hearty laugh that she'd only heard once or twice before, "Yeah, the one n' only. Ain't he the best?" He took no notice of the woman's guilt-ridden gaze, "Flyin' around... helpin' people, selfless with a heart o' gold. That's how I want'd to be, too."

The man appeared to be lost in his thoughts, nearly as bad as the 'jobs' and 'drills' predicament from before. "...Did you ever go to school?" Dawkins questioned further, setting the figurine softly on the table. Bronco's boyish grin wavered a bit, "Not really... unless football practice counts. I never really..."

He folded his hands, suddenly feeling out of place, "...had alot a' friends. Not because I didn't want e'm, but because Ma' and Pa' were always around. They didn't want me talkin' to anyone. 'Specially not about the jobs, they said that they were a secret. I never really... talked much because of it."

"...At least you can now." Deedee said, reminding him of his new freedom, "I hate to say it, but... it's best that you never see those lunatics again. That way, you don't have to be mistreated and taken advantage of like you were before." A refreshing, joyful look washed upon Baby's face, one that wasn't caused by the medicine, for a change, "Yeah." Was all he said, before peering out the window, wordlessly. Admiring the bright hue of the vast golden desert.

The two sat like that for hours. Every once in awhile, they would bring up another question or an event from their pasts to share. Strangely, no papers were printed from ASTRO's monitor - But there was no need to waste time reading its useless print outs, anyways. Interaction was much more important.

"Y'know, when I was stuck in jail for all those months, I... never thought I'd ever get out. I was scared. I saw some men who served a 20 year sentence like mine. They lost their... light. They were like my Pa', they couldn't be happy without faking it and hurtin' people. It was like they... lost something in e'm." Baby said, once more recalling his heart-breaking past.

"'Cause I was so afraid of it happenin' to me, I made sure to run as soon as I got the chance. Is... that what leaving Earth was like for you? Findin' the Astrocitizen program and all?" Deedee furrowed a brow, thinking hard, "Mine was nowhere near as bad as yours. I just needed a vacation from my jobs, a break from all the stress."

The memory of Emmet bringing up the same problem flashed through her mind, she almost smiled, "But I guess I got stress, regardless. I didn't expect this _'vacation'_ to lead to more nonsense and craziness... But well, here we are..."

It began to get late after that, Deedee recalled. Though, she didn't remember how she ended up slouched in a corner with the burly man enveloping her in a big, warm embrace. Despite the awkward tension and wondering if her friend was even conscious enough to know what he was doing - she felt as if all her fears melted away.

It had been so long since she had felt comfort and warmness. Those were the feelings she only felt when she sipped the bitter-sweet taste of coffee. It was a reassuring feeling - refreshing. Almost like her parents hugging her when she completed her first iceskating tournament. But Baby's embrace was better, somehow. Almost hopeful, encouraging. Reminding her that everything was alright.

She softly patted his arm, which was looped stiffly around her neck. She was unsure if he was asleep or not, but she noticed the blood seeping through the wrap on his thigh, the crimson stained in his space suit.

Bronco softly pulled away after a short silence, "Do ya feel any better?" He asked awkwardly, offering a comforting smile, "I know you've been stressed, bein' captain and all... I remember my Ma' used to hug me when I got done with the jobs, and it always helped me feel better." Deedee released a breath she didn't realize she was holding, "Yeah, it sure did. I guess I didn't realize how much I needed it..."

She looked up to find Baby's eyes wide awake, staring at the floor, tentatively. He silently noticed her gaze. After a short moment, he mumbled, "I hope we can find a new home, somewhere. This shuttle's nice and all, but... I... I miss Earth. I can't help but wonder if... we can ever go back."

"I do too." Dawkins admitted, tucking her knees into her chest. She was close enough to her crewmate to feel every steady pulse of his heartbeat. She imagined the aftermath of the bombing. The thought of miraculously coming back and landing in an unrecognizable, uncharted wasteland. No life, no one, nothing. She wondered if there was even an Earth to go back to.

The thought made her stomach churn... or maybe it was just hunger.

"We'll find our new home soon." She promised her lone companion, squeezing his hand, "We will."

...

"Hey? Hey, Cap? I think I found somethin'!"

Deedee shot up from her seat, looking towards the window where Baby was standing. He pointed at an object that stuck up from the sand outside. "Is that a... machine?" The blonde pondered, perplexed. "It kinda looks like one..." The ginger replied after squinting a bit, "Do you think I should go grab it? It doesn't look too far from the shuttle."

Deedee paused with caution, remembering his still unhealed injury, "Are you sure you can with that leg?" Bronco licked his teeth, twiddling his fingers uneasily, "Well... I can try." He offered. Dawkins bit her lip nervously, fingers tapping on the windowsill, "Ok, fine." She digressed, "As long as it's not a bomb. But if you trip, don't think I won't run out there and drag you right back in here, got it?"

The man nodded obediently, snatching a mask off the wall and racing out the door. Deedee watched him through the glass, grimacing as she recalled the random bomb they encountered during their previous space odyssey. The outcome wasn't a pretty one. Unless fiery explosions in space counted as universal fireworks, that is...

When Baby stumbled back inside a few moments later, he was lifting a large metal box in his arms. He set it gently on the table, brushing off the remaining grains of sand. It resembled a telephone, but looked slightly different and much bigger. The two studied the strange alien symbols carved into it's design.

"Maybe it's an alien communicator?" Dawkins guessed, poking a finger at a random button. An odd gurgling noise emitted from the device, sounding like a foreign alien language.

Deedee backed away, startled, as the shuttle around them began to distort. The air around them became scalding and heavy and the walls deteriorated into dust. Tall trees and plants suddenly loomed over them, but they were dying - supposedly because of the suffocating heat.

Dawkins and Bronco sputtered breathlessly, the overwhelming temperature already reflecting on their faces. They could faintly see the three pyramids in the background. A blinding light blasted from each of them, and into the brilliant blue sky. It was just like Earth...only, it was dying.

But how could something so beautiful die so fast? The trees couldn't have been dead forever, could they?

The air was becoming impossible to breathe, burning into their lungs as the two humans gasped desperately for it. Baby's face was already turning a frightening white because of it. Deedee knew they wouldn't survive long unless they acted fast. She scrambled for the alien machine, which was halfway buried under a liter of sand at her feet.

Baby's eyes were glued to the sky, his lips trembling, he choked, "Deedee - look!" She did, and she was met with the lights from the pyramids flickering out. Like a fading light. The Earth-like turquoise of the sky blotched into an unnatural yellow. She could see the trees start to shrivel up and die right before her eyes. And with it, the small amount of oxygen.

Without thinking, the woman punched a button that looked suspiciously like an "x."

Miraculously, or _'plot conveniently,'_ as Tom would say - it worked. The whirring noise returned yet again, stripping the foreign land away in a matter of seconds. As soon as the new world appeared, it vanished. Leaving the two astrocitizens to collapse back to the bunker's floor, gasping for breath.

...

" _Time travel?"_ Emmet breathed, eyes wide, "Is that even physically possible?"

One look at his comrades proved the suspicions to be true. Baby was cowering in his chair, sweat drenched through his hair and his face flushed pink, while Deedee had sand sprinkling from her suit, sweat dripping from her brow. A closer look around revealed smears of fresh dirt decorating bits of the floor, which was impossible to find outside.

"That's what we saw, unless it was just a dramatic simulation of a nightmare." Deedee said, wiping crumbs of sod from her mouth in disgust. "No." Bronco spoke up beside her, still panting, "I could feel the heat and air burnin' from... everywhere. Th-The sand splashin' up like a storm. It was too real to just be a dream."

Emmet huffed, setting four soup cans on the table, "I always miss the interesting things that happen here, don't I?" He sighed, removing his helmet wearily. The African American licked his lips, mindlessly drumming his fingers on his chair, "But imagine what the gift of time travel can do for us on Earth!" He said suddenly, perking up.

"Sure, there would be paradoxes, and maybe a few screw ups in the space time continuum - but still! We could go back to the way things were..." Ellis looked over at Deedee, his finger tapping fading, "How far did you go back?"

The blonde woman frowned, knowing the answer wasn't what he wanted to hear, "Far enough to find a jungle right where we were standing. Probably thousands of years ago." She claimed.

The chemist shifted on his feet, imagining coming back to a prehistoric Earth. Where dinosaurs walked the land, or maybe an outcome of the horrible Ice Age. "On second thought, that wouldn't be the best idea..." He decided.

"Anyways, what happened at the temple? Did the riddle work as expected?" Dawkins questioned, noticing he hadn't brought back the artifact. "I don't know for sure if it did, but... let's just say it accepted my offer." The black man answered, dropping the rest of his materials onto the floor, "I can't believe there's a chance of us completing it. It's too bad that we still don't know what it does."

"Oh, I almost forgot - ASTRO picked up a reception of the rest of the prophecy, God knows how - but It said that completing it can cause the planet to revert back to how it was before - a paradise." Deedee declared, she ripped the proof from the AI's printer, proudly presenting it.

Emmet rose a brow, "A ritual of offering various items to three possessed temples can turn this place from a desert to a place like Earth?" He stated apathetically, "I'll admit that I find that a bit hard to believe."

"Well, that apparently what it says, real or not real, the only way to know for sure is to find out." Dawkins replied, "We'll set out together tomarrow. Take some of our supplies with us to help us survive."

"Wait, we'll... leave the shuttle?" Baby piped up, looking apprehensive. "Yeah... I mean, we don't exactly need it, do we?" The captain pointed out. She took a moment to remember all that had happened there, good and bad. A moment of sadness washed over her. She couldn't help but feel that the other two felt the same. Like they were about to abandon their home.

"Well... we might as well start preparing." Emmet stated nonchalantly, "Upgrading, crafting and all that. I'll try to work on building a few things..." The wimpy man scratched his chin, hesitantly, "...I think...uh, Tom encouraged me to start practicing."

Deedee smiled a bit, but it faded, "Looks like he did have some good advice under all those jokes, huh?"

...

The fire crackled like popcorn, the smoke sizzling into the empty orange sky. Baby licked his lips, the smokey smell reminding him of the warm, sweet, gooey taste of marshmallows. It was too bad that cold, nasty soup was the only food available - and the taste of expired tomatoes roasting over the fire wasn't a pleasant thought.

Beside him, Deedee and Emmet stared brokenly at the burning embers, memories of their previous homes flickering through their minds. They weren't sure if night was approaching yet. There was no dependable star in the sky to act as a clock like on Earth.

They began to miss ASTRO's automatic time updates back on the shuttle. Leaving it behind took alot of bravery, but they managed to do it, despite the risks. The depressing "Goodbye" note the AI had left them was heart-wrenching enough to read. But once they had stopped to rest and light a fire, their worries somewhat eased - melting away like the trash they used to set the camp aflame.

"See? I told you it was a good idea to craft a lighter." Emmet claimed, comfortably crossing his legs on a rock, "Even with the air's miniscule amount of oxygen, you can still light a fire if you use the right components and materials. I can't say I've ever tried it before, but hey, it works."

The chemist was even generous enough to craft them all expedition helmets - mainly just for better "facial and eye protection against harmful toxins in the atmosphere," He got the idea after he discovered how to craft glass by mixing certain resources together.

Deedee poked experimentally at the fire, watching the way it moved along with the light breeze. The sweet, ashy smell of it seeped into her mask. It was beautiful, no doubt. A reminder of what they were missing from Earth.

"What if the soviets find us cuz of the light?" Bronco blurted out fearfully, glancing at shadows flickering off of the stone walls. Ellis sighed, not wanting to be reminded of danger when they had finally found peace, "If they do, we'll shoot them." He stated bluntly, "That's why we decided to go out all together. Right, Captain?"

"Yep." Deedee spoke, hugging her legs closer to her chest, "That's _exactly_ why." The trio went quiet again, relishing in the comforting warmth of the fire and the cool, desert air. The rocks they were sitting on weren't exactly comfortable, but the sand around them felt almost like a beach without an ocean.

Thinking about it was a pleasant thought. The captain could just imagine the crow of seagulls and soothing wash of waves passing by. She recalled the feeling of drifting through the cool, salty ocean of California.

Rocking back... and forth, back and forth with the waves.

...

"Breakfast is served." Emmet announced out of nowhere, clanging a make-shift spoon against metal. Deedee and Baby both grumbled as they were startled awake at the noise. They were already attempting to bury their heads in sand to mute it out. "Come on, you two can't sleep forever." Ellis scolded, unamused.

Stripping a plate carrying three soup cans away from the fire, he took the pan carefully and set it on a rock nearby, "I decided to, you know, improvise. I thought you two could use some energy for the journey, anyways. Especially with all that happened while I was gone."

Dawkins scoffed in response before regretfully sitting up. It was only then she noticed how gaunt her features had become. She inspected the way her cheekbones jutted out frighteningly and felt the burning sensation in her stomach. "I would have saved it for last night," Emmet continued, "but it's much smarter to eat it now so we have energy."

Baby glanced over dazily, sniffing at the new cooked food with wonder. His starved appearance made Deedee grimace, the incident from day 15 flashing back in her mind. The two took their portions with no hesitation, feeling how nice and well-baked it felt. "It's about time we earned a warm meal." Deedee chortled half-heartfully, "It's too bad a stove wasn't installed back on the shuttle."

"Heh, you said it." The former chemistry teacher agreed. He cracked the lid of his can open, gently stirring the hot red liquid. Before the others could bring their meals to their lips, Dawkins suddenly brought her own can to the air, "Hey, how about a toast for good luck before we set out?" She offered.

Her two comrades hesitantly exchanged glances before nodding, "To finding our new home." She said with a half-hearted grin. All three cans clanked in unison, as if they were cheering with luxury wine. Then, the trio greedily slurped down the satisfyingly cooked soup, preparing for the unexpected.

As soon as they knew it, their journey to the moon temple began. Deedee was surprised to find a hidden valley among all of the sand dunes. The stone walls looked sculpted and smooth, almost like the famous "Grand Canyon" back on Earth. Emmet chimed in, saying that the place could've once been home to fresh, running water just like it.

Dawkins swept her long, golden bangs back behind her head scarf, scowling in annoyance. Her two companions weren't in any better grooming condition. Both were sporting messy afros and full beards at that point - a reminder of how long it had been since their home's demise. The thought made the captain shiver, despite the planet's scorching heat.

The crew refused to give up, only occasionally stopping to take a break in some shade or to take a drink of jugged water they had taken from the ship. How the liquid was produced in the first place was a mystery, but no one dared question the logic.

They all remained uncomfortably silent as their odyssey continued. It wasn't necessarily because of fear, but rather, uncertainty. Baby distracted himself by busily twiddling his thumbs, while Emmet's focus was drawn to the map in his hands, "We're close." He claimed, squinting at the bronze horizon through his visors.

Sure enough, the massive structure appeared right where the valley came to an end. The crescent shaped building loomed dangerously over them, coating them all in a deep shadow. "Wow..." Deedee drawled in awe, "This looks... amazing."

It looked the same as it did in the flashback, only bigger and much older. Dead plants seemed to decorate the outside, proving that life there was once present. But not anymore. "I hope it doesn't end up being a maze like the last one." Emmet muttered, shielding his eyes from the light, "I could've came back alot faster if it wasn't."

Baby looked more afraid than astounded, "Don't...uh, dungeons and temples have traps? Like the ones built in the floor and big, rollin' rocks...?" He rambled, his voice wavering. "As long as the 'big rocks' part is out of the question, traps are the least of our problems." Ellis said, "Getting stuck and starving, suffocating or dehydrating somewhere, however..."

The trio approached the entrance where a large, fancy, iron door awaited them. "Damn, it won't budge." Emmet cursed after his feeble attempts at jerking the doornob. Before he could mentally debate on how to get inside, he heard Baby boom from behind him, "Leave it to me!"

With a running start, the man had catapulted himself straight through the wall - completely obliterating it. His companions cringed at the harsh cracking noise that followed. But a moment later, the ginger shot up with a satisfied grin, somehow unharmed.

With a new swig of confidence, the three disappeared into the strange mansion, the faint scent of copper dribbling into their masks. Inside was dark, almost too dark. Even with Deedee holding a beacon of light, it could only illuminate so many paces in front of them. Everyone's confidence withered away with it - especially Baby's.

His legs were already trembling and he was clinging onto his partners for dear life. "Oh, don't tell me you're afraid of the dark _now."_ Deedee seethed with frustration. She could only barely see his sheepish smile in the blackness. "Only a little bit..."

The slight distraction was all the blonde needed to accidentally slip on a rock in the floor. Or... was it a rock? A _"click"_ noise resounded through the air. She heard both of her men yelp in fear, and reeled back just in time to avoid an object swiping by her head. Raising the lighter to greet the faint silhouette, she noticed that it was a... cow statue with... _sharpened utters?_

"Are you kidding me? What the heck even is that!?" The captain hissed at the thing in a panic. Her crew shushed her in terror, trying to remind her that there was a chance they weren't alone. "On second thought, traps are definitely a problem," Emmet whispered to her, correcting himself contemptfully, "Just be careful so none of us get skewered next time."

It felt like hours had passed as they aimlessly wandered the dungeon. Remarkably, no other traps were encountered, and after walking up at least four nightmarish flights of stairs, they discovered a room containing a giant stone bowl. One last staircase lead to a cliff that dipped inside the structure like a spoon.

"This must be it." Deedee stated, studying the murkily-colored ritual room. It was alot less... impressive than she expected. Emmet stepped forwards, unraveling the prophecy's paper and a lone soup in his hands.

"Wait..." Baby spoke up after the short silence, "How do we open it? We broke the can-opener back on the ship, right?" Ellis' face paled as he checked the lid of the can, finding no tab. The chemist slapped himself in aggravation, "Well, looks like it'll have to accept it anyways." He decided, voice sharp like poison.

He scrambled up the folds of stairs with determination, then stood at the foot of the bowl, silently peering down at his crewmates. The man dramatically held the can out in the air before letting it go, listening to the quick smack of it's landing.

After a moment with no reaction, the soup abruptly began to evaporate into nothing - metal and all. A dull hum reverberated through the tunnels, catching the humans off guard. It continued for a second, before a sound that resembled a thunder clap blasted through the air.

The floor buckled, losing it's gravity before pelting into different directions. The three were flung against the wall like ragdolls, screaming in terror as memories of the ship crash rewinded in their minds. Unexpectedly, it stopped, and the room began to piece itself together in a different shape. A familiar blinding light flashed in Baby and Deedee's eyes. The ceiling lifted open, broadcasting the other two temples in the same condition.

Emmet dangled from a ridge, gripping a pillar desperately, "I'm guessing it worked..." He mumbled joyfully, despite the horror clear on his face. The rumbling eventually came to a stop, leaving the room in a dull silence.

"...Now there must be one last thing to do." Deedee semi-confidently declared, gazing towards the central pyramid in the distance.

...

The captain grabbed the rusty lever, working the machine's controls gently upward. It took a minute to get the ancient cogs to start spinning, but when they did, the stick jerked forwards. And instantly, she felt something in the ground jolt alive.

"Hey, Deedee! Look!" Ellis called from outside, sounding breathless. She bolted to the nearest shattered window, and what she saw left her completely speechless.

The sky began to warp to a brilliant blue and the canals that scarred the planet gushed with fresh, beautiful water. It seemed to have came from nowhere. The blonde woman almost thought she was hallucinating. She rushed outside to greet Baby and Emmet, who were standing frozen with their jaws dropped. The former athlete stood between them, tugging happily at their arms, "We did it!" She cheered, a wild smile on her face, "We frickin' did it!"

The new star's light beat refreshingly upon the land, the steady warmth seeping into the astrocitizens' suits. The sweet smell of the fresh water shore filled their masks. They found their ship sitting not too far away from the beauty in all of it's hideous wreckage. For once, they could overlook it.

Small hints of plant life were developing near the water's shore. Contrasting bits of green and blue among the dead yellow sand. Baby was the first one brave enough to remove his helmet, inhaling the fresh, foreign oxygen. "It's... clean." He spoke, almost unbelieving, "It's... it's cleaner than Earth!"

The others soon followed, feeling the cool desert air fill their lungs. Their brawny friend bounded towards the riverbank, yanking off his gloves and dipping his hands into the water. The liquid came away crystal clear, not a speck of dirt in sight. He stared intently at his nearly unrecognizable reflection. Wondering how long had it been since he looked in a mirror.

Emmet stood inquisitively at the bank, digging his hands into the fertile soil. He massaged it through his fingers, admiring the clay-like texture. "I can't believe it..." He breathed, shock donning his features, "I really didn't think it would - there's... th- it doesn't make any sense!"

Deedee stepped up beside him, her moppy dirty blonde hair drenched over eyes, "But it's here." She stated matter-of-factly. The black man only clicked his tongue, "Yes, but-" A splash of pure water slapped him straight in the face, the captain cackled giddily across from him, "It doesn't matter, genius. It's _here."_

A sudden strong hand gripped the former chemistry instructor from behind, causing him to squeal in surprise. Baby hefted him up, lips curled in a grin. Water dripped down his face and beard, marring his appearance in a blend of pale and orange. "Heads up!" He vaguely warned.

Bronco tossed the scrawny man into a deep puddle of water, who instantly shot up from the surface in a blind panic. After catching his breath, Emmet sighed, resting comfortably on the ridge, "It is... very nice, actually." He admitted, setting his arms behind his head.

A big wad of muck flew by and whacked him right in the face, snapping him awake. Deedee covered her mouth, trying to stifle another shameless laugh - but two mounds of mud to her head cut her off. She glared in Baby and Emmet's direction, dipping her hand for more sod to throw.

Ellis successfully dodged her attack by ducking in the water, while Bronco earned a smack of the substance to his nose. As if defeated, the giant dramatically let himself go limp and back-flipped into the harbor - resulting in a mighty splash that drenched everything in a eight foot radius.

Chuckles of laughter resounded from the group, all of them shortly forgetting the trials they faced to get there. But it wasn't long before the star began to fade and their excitement geared down to suspense.

"So... what do you think we should do now?" Emmet asked the captain a few hours later, "We have a whole new world that belongs to us now. We have so much to do and so many things to explore." The African American was wearing a faded white tank top, his orange shirt discarded and tied around his waist.

The three humans were stargazing, resting beneath the eerie burgundy sky. Some stars were still visible among it, glistening behind the colorless clouds. "First of all, we need to help give this place more vegetation, just to see if it can offer us any food better than soup. We should also start building shelter, and maybe a few other things... Who knows, we might be able to rebuild some items from Earth. The possibilities are endless." Deedee claimed, studying the unearthly atmosphere.

"Yeah, I agree about the 'building' part. It would be nice to have a few beds, appliances and tables again, instead of just rocks..." The copper-skinned man replied, a sad look in his eyes. "An' shampoo, scissors, razors, deodorant, and Q-tips, huh?" Baby mentioned from beside them.

Deedee smiled, although a bit sourly, "Right." She said. Her friend scratched his neck hesitantly, suddenly stuttering, "I think I see another constalli... cansill - consalla-" "Constellation." Emmet corrected. "...Yeah."

"What is it?" Dawkins tried, "It's not another superhero or fish like the last times, is it?" "No." Bronco answered, shaking his head, "...Do you want me to show you?" The blonde smirked, raising a brow, "Yeah, I'm curious."

The ginger pointed up, gesturing at an empty part of the sky, "There." He stated, squinting, "Right there. Do you see it? ...It's Earth."

"...What, really?" Deedee said, befuddled, "But there's... nothing there."

"Exactly. Cause _this_ is our Earth. This is our home." Baby explained, bringing his hand back to his side, "There's no goin' back. Like you said. This is our new Earth, now."

Dawkins dug her fingers into the sand, suddenly feeling grim. She noticed Baby wiping at his eye, as if he were crying, "It makes me sad, thinkin' about it. We left everything behind - everyone. I almost miss e'm... Ma' and Pa'. I miss the old man..." He trailed.

"We all do." Emmet assured, "...I miss my students, my family, my stupid low paying job and..." He paused, looking at the stars again, "It's all gone." The captain sighed, remembering her own family that she was so ungrateful for. Then, she eyed the garden of plants her and her team had planted so far.

"Missing them won't bring them back." She reminded her team regretfully, brows furrowed, "We have to keep moving forward, regardless of it. We have a whole world to bring back to life."

The two men nodded discreetly, stretching out tiredly in the sand. The blonde sat up a moment, as if she was watching the birthing world around her begin to steadily bloom.

"This is our new Earth, afterall."

The tall, looming lavender trees tossed back and forth in the wisping wind. The star's beaming yellow rays were barely visible behind the countless minty leaves and exotic fruits. Shabby patches of grass had grown into sword-like blades beneath them, running like carpet throughout the strange jungle.

A small futuristic hut stood in the midst of the nature, a small garden seperating it from the rest.

Deedee sat on a home-made bench, taking a long sip from her mug, which was filled to the brim with perfected pecan-colored coffee. She let the sweet taste linger on her tongue for awhile, before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Not bad for three years in the making." She teased in her old friend's direction.

Emmet was tinkering endlessly with several building components scattered around him. His face was tight in concentration, a gloved hand resting over his ungroomed goatee, "Yeah, just like the other hundred and twenty four things I've crafted to perfection." He scowled, rolling his eyes, "Trust me, I've counted." He twisted his goggles back over his eyes, trying to focus harder.

"Oh c'mon, you know I'm kidding." Deedee chuckled, patting him on the shoulder, "To think we used to call you useless back on the ship, am I right?"

Baby hesitantly wandered over, inspecting a small orange bottle in a hand. He brushed a few strands of red curls from his forehead, automatically, "Wow... has it really been that long?" He asked, noting the blonde's previous comment, "It doesn't really feel like it."

"Well, our calendar isn't exactly perfected yet, but yes. According to how many 'nights' we slept here, it's been nearly three years." Emmet replied. He rearranged the set of flasks in front of him, tapping a spoon against the glass.

Deedee leaned back against the wooden counter, running a finger along the unearthly purple boards, "...We haven't changed much since then, huh?"

Emmet offered her a look and a short smile, "Nope, not at all." He tweaked a bit more at his materials, sticking out his tongue experimentally, "Excluding how you went from a motivational speaker to... whatever you are now." He continued, "It kind of reminds me of a certain someone from the past, but... I won't mention who."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Deedee chirped, overlooking his response, "It's nice to finally have a break from our worries after so long. We can't be caught up in work all the time, right? We have to at least _try_ to enjoy life. No laws, no drama... just a whole world that belongs to us."

"Speakin' about work..." Baby brought up, squirting a portion of Emmet's chemically-produced shampoo into his messy hair. He grimaced slightly, "I think you made this stuff a bit better this time. It doesn't burn as much and... it smells pretty nice, too."

"See? Improvements." Ellis chanted, pointing to the bottle as an example. "Yeah, but what about that one 'razor' invention you tried to craft a few days ago? Y'know, the knife you duct taped to the end of a stick?" Deedee mentioned, quirking a brow. "That's... a work in progress." Emmet retorted, unconsciously brushing the bandages taped to his cheek.

"I bet if you went out to that valley to the east, you could find some resources to help fix it." The black man claimed with a gesture of his glove. Dawkins teasingly stroked her chin, "Or... I could let you two suffer with that butcher knife awhile longer." She mused, "I'll admit that y'all looked alot better when all hell broke loose all those years ago."

Emmet looked over at her, baffled, as did Baby, even with the 'shampoo' smearing and bubbling down his face. "Oh, _really?"_ Ellis bluffed, "Guess you wouldn't mind me stopping my studies of how to make the lipstick you miss so dearly..." Deedee narrowed her eyes dangerously, _"Oh_ \- you wouldn't dare." Ellis chuckled, "That's what I thought."

The chemist rolled back in his chair, dismissing her with a wave, "Safe travels." Was all he said, before returning to his restless experiments. Bronco stood awkwardly beside him, shifting from foot to foot, "Try to be careful out there, 'specially with those weird chipmunk things that've been poppin' up, lately..." He cautioned, tugging self-consciously at the hem of his faded green shirt.

 _"Abominations..."_ Ellis muttered, remembering the many crops and supplies they had lost to the pests. Deedee chortled at his banter, already mid-way out the door, "Ok, I will." She promised, "Just find a way to control them without making them go extinct. Try re-inventing peanut butter or something."

With that, the captain set out to the east of the glade. Again, she found herself entranced by the land's alien nature, even after all the years of seeing it daily. The purple vines and multicolored moss decorated every wiry tree limb and bush. It almost looked like Earth, but splayed with alternate colors and shapes.

The dusty yellow rock below was almost invisible compared to the rest. Deedee kicked idly at the stones at her feet, before gazing into the bright turquoise sky. She had a perfect view of a cliff teetering in the distance. The shape of it rung a figurative bell in her mind. The way the ridge beside it was curved like a staircase and the lone tree...

It sprouted right near the edge, right above the abyss that swallowed the mountain below. The sight gave her an awful sense of dejá vu, but she tried to shrug it off. Nothing else seemed familiar. It was all just... rock. Nothing special ...other than a small ravine that just happened to catch her eye. Trailing it, she realized that it lead to something she somehow overlooked.

Dawkins bit her lip, noticing the crevice in the mountain behind all the vines. Reaching a hand to brush the drapery away, her curiousity inevitably got the best of her. She offered one more anxious glance towards the meadow behind her, before she slipped inside.

It was dark, eerily dark - but a faint hint of light caught her eye. It was artificial, either a hand-made lantern or torch, it seemed. The blonde studied it curiously, wondering if there could be something else living there. Cautiously, she approached, following the small river deeper into the cave. Glimpses of nature ornaments decorated the walls, as did odd drawings that were painted alongside them. A few in particular, caught the captain's attention.

Besides the stick figures doodled in a few places, there was one of a poorly drawn spaceship and others that reminded Deedee of objects from Earth. She twitched suddenly, hearing something clatter from behind her.

The sound of someone hissing in frustration was next, making her duck under a large boulder in alarm. A shadow rose from the floor, revealing the unknown being fumbling with something in it's hands... or were they hands? Deedee peeked over right as the light popped back on again.

Her eyes widened as she saw the figure standing with it's back facing her. It was hard to make out in the dark, but it held the torch-like item close, illuminating it's humanoid silhouette. Closer inspection revealed a long veil of fur draping down it's head and a knitted reef of leaves along it's nape.

Hints of a muddy yellow were visible through some reins, catching Deedee off guard. The thing turned to the side suddenly, jutting out a hidden arm to click uselessly at a broken lighter.

Dawkins' hand went to her gloss-ridden lips in silent shock. The 'thing' appeared to be a man that looked on the verge of his mid to late 30s or 40s. His long, greying brown hair was hidden under the tuft of minty leaves and his left arm was halfway missing, the rest of it bundled in a thick wad of bandages.

His lone eye caught the glimmer of blonde reflecting in the blackness, and shot up. Heart racing, Deedee brought her hands to the air, slowly rising to her feet. The man's eye went wide as he stared her up and down, completely speechless. The lighter slipped from his hand, clacking to the floor.

Deedee hesitated as she stood there, fumbling with her words and unsure of what to say. Hell, what could she say?

 _ **"Tom...?**_ _Is that you?"_

Without warning, he stumbled, lurching forward and embracing her with his lone arm. No more words were spoken while he squeezed her with all of his weary might. Homesick tears dripped from his cheek, but his quiet broken sobs slowly morphed into overjoyed chuckles of happiness.

The strange scent of burnt gasoline stung at Deedee's nose, but she tried to ignore it, "B-B-But how in the hell did you...?" She stuttered, bewildered at the sight of her long lost friend. Gently pulling away, Tom smirked, even while his eye was bloodshot with tears and his smile was twisted with sadness. His voice cracking, he answered;

 _"Military training."_

"But you fell! Me and Baby saw it, and... your arm..." The captain spoke, staring at the injury's remnants, "There's no way you would've survived that, so _how?"_ Tom snickered before he snapped on a hand-made lamp nearby. The rest of the cave was lit alive, shown to be completely stacked with soup and countless supplies,

"Hell, Deedee, I'd love to ask you the same thing."


End file.
